The surgical procedure Associated risks After
surgery
After Adjustable Gastric Band Surgery
After insertion of the adjustable gastric band,
you will stay overnight at Memorial Health University Medical Center.
After you recover from your anesthesia, you will start a liquid
diet that you will follow for two weeks. You will begin doing
simple exercises from your bed just four hours after surgery. You
will have some discomfort after surgery and we will provide pain
relief as needed.
Before you leave the hospital, you will undergo
a barium swallow to make sure you are able to eat. A small percentage
of patients develop swelling at the band site and need to stay in
the hospital for an extra day or so.
Follow-Up
You will return to Memorial Health Bariatrics
after two weeks, four weeks, monthly for the first year, then every three months for the next one to two years, then annually. At each of these visits, we will check your weight,
measure certain parts of your body, check your strength, and perform
other tests as needed. These check-ups are necessary to help us
ensure that you are healthy and are following your diet and exercise
guidelines.
Support
You will be asked to attend a support group regularly. Research has shown that adequate support is a vital part of weight loss success. We offer meetings at least twice a month here in Savannah in the Mercer Auditorium located in the Hoskins Center on the Memorial Health campus. We also hold a monthly meeting in Vidalia, Georgia, at the Wellness Center near Meadows Regional Medical Center.
You will also meet
with an exercise physiologist and dietitian. You will be given
telephone access to a nurse 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Additional counseling will be available if necessary. As our program
develops, we will offer our patients an increasing range of
workshops and seminars to help you make the life adjustments needed
to maintain your weight loss.
Changing the Way You Eat
The modifications made to your gastrointestinal
tract will require permanent changes in your eating habits. Some of
the changes you will be required to make include:
• When you start eating solid food it is essential that you chew
thoroughly. You will not be able to eat steaks or other chunks of meat if they
are not ground or chewed thoroughly.
• You are not to drink fluids while eating. You need to wait 90
minutes after eating before drinking any fluid.
• Omit desserts and other items with sugar listed as one of the
first three ingredients.
• Omit carbonated drinks, high-calorie nutritional supplements,
milk shakes, high-fat foods, and foods with high-fiber content.
• Avoid alcohol.
• Limit snacking between meals.
• Take vitamin supplements as directed by your doctor.
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Returning to Work
Your ability to resume pre-surgery levels of
activity will vary based on your physical condition and the nature
of the activity. Many patients return to full pre-surgery levels
of activity within six weeks of their procedure. Patients who have
had a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure may be able to return
to these activities within a few weeks.
Birth Control and Pregnancy
It is strongly advised that women of childbearing
age use at least two effective forms of birth control during the
first 16 to 24 months after weight loss surgery. A woman's ability
to become pregnant returns within a week or two after you start
to lose weight. The added demands pregnancy places on your body
and the potential for fetal damage make this requirement very important.
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