What to Expect Before, During and After Weight-Loss Surgery
February 14, 2024
Categories: Blog Posts, Weight Loss
Weight-loss surgery is the most effective weight-loss solution for people who have struggled to lose weight via dieting, medications and other lifestyle changes. If you’ve been considering weight-loss surgery (also known as metabolic and bariatric surgery), you may be wondering about the process—before, during and after surgery. Here's what the process entails at Holy Cross Health.
Before Weight-Loss Surgery
Preparing for weight-loss surgery begins several months in advance. The first step is determining if surgery is a good fit for you and whether you’re physically and mentally ready for the lifestyle changes that surgery brings. Holy Cross Health bariatric surgeons offer virtual education sessions for patients interested in learning more.
You may be a good candidate if you’re an adult with obesity, which means you have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or higher (BMI is a measure of body size based on height and weight). You may also qualify if you have a BMI over 35 and a weight-related condition like type 2 diabetes or heart disease. You must also be aware of the risks and be personally committed to making lifestyle changes after the surgery that help you keep the weight off.
Once you’ve connected with a bariatric surgeon and made the choice to have surgery, there are a number of steps you’ll take over a few months to get ready. Here are some typical things you’ll need to do, but your doctor may require others:
- Talk to your health insurance provider about your coverage.
- Meet with a weight-loss surgery coordinator who will answer any questions you have and help you plan for surgery.
- Attend a surgical weight-loss informational meeting.
- Begin a regular exercise program.
- Schedule a sleep study.
- Meet with a nutritionist to start taking vitamins and plan your post-surgery diet.
- Meet with a mental health provider.
- Request time off from work. You’ll be out of work for one to two weeks.
- Secure help at home from friends and family members.
During Weight Loss Surgery
Weight loss surgery takes about two hours, depending on which procedure you’re getting. It’s a major operation so you’ll be placed under anesthesia while the surgeon performs your procedure.
The details of your surgery will depend on your individual circumstances, but it is typically a minimally invasive surgery, which results in less pain, a shorter recovery period and fewer complications. The surgeon will make small incisions and use specialized instruments to complete the procedure. The two most common types of bariatric surgery are sleeve gastrectomy, which reduces the size of the stomach to a small pouch, and gastric bypass, which is an operation that combines both restrictive and malabsorptive components.
After surgery, the medical staff will monitor you. Once you are fully awake, you'll be transferred from a recovery room to a private room where you’ll generally stay for at least one night, or as directed by your doctor. You will be up and walking around to get your blood flowing and to prepare you to leave the hospital.
After Weight Loss Surgery
Surgery is only one step in your weight loss transformation. Following the surgery, you must be committed to maintaining rigorous health and nutrition standards. You’ll attend regular follow-up appointments with your medical and nutrition team to monitor your progress and get help maintaining your new lifestyle.
For the first couple of weeks after surgery, you will feel very little hunger and maintain a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet to allow your new stomach and digestive system to heal. Then, working with your surgeon and dietitian, you’ll be advanced to increasing consistencies of the bariatric high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet over the coming weeks.
Once your body has begun to recover, you’ll start following your new eating plan that you’ve worked out with your nutritionist. You will eat smaller portions and fewer calories. You won’t be able to eat some foods you did before. For example, you won’t be able to drink soda and other carbonated beverages that expand your stomach.
In addition to mindful eating, you’ll continue following an exercise plan. A lifelong exercise program is critical to the surgery’s success and preventing the weight from returning. About a month after the surgery, you’ll gradually incorporate low-intensity aerobic exercise like walking or swimming until you’re exercising for about 45 to 60 minutes several days a week.
Learn More About Weight Loss Surgery
Holy Cross Health’s weight-loss surgery program, equipped with a dedicated bariatric surgery coordinator, provides comprehensive support and education before, during and after surgery to help patients achieve their health and lifestyle goals. Learn more about Bariatric Surgery.
If you think weight-loss surgery might be the right choice for you, attend an informational meeting or support group to learn more about the process and to interact with other people who are undergoing the journey.
Holy Cross Health presents the information in this blog as a resource for our community. It is not intended to replace professional medical advice or to endorse any particular entity or service. Personal health problems should be brought to the attention of the appropriate health professionals.