Pre/Post Operative Management

Weight Management Before & After Bariatric Surgery

There are a variety of Obesity Medicine related concerns in the pre and the post operative time periods when considering bariatric surgery. Many organizations and insurance companies will recommend that you try a medically assisted weight loss program prior to your surgery as a necessary criteria for surgical qualification. Some organizations/insurance companies will place a time frame on this which is most commonly 6 months. If your weight and health problems are not able to be resolved through a medically assisted weight loss program such as ours, then we will facilitate your referral to a bariatric surgeon. We can at that time discuss with you the pros and cons of your bariatric surgical choices as well as what you should expect after surgery.

In the immediate post operative time period, your surgeon will provide you care. However, after this care ends, we find that patients will often not adhere to their post operative recommendations, not remember being given instructions on diet and exercise, or will find that their primary care doctors are not comfortable with post bariatric surgical care. There are many places where you can find guidelines on post operative care. The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery provides a nice summary of what to expect. We can help you through these concerns.

Additionally, we often find that patients who struggle with weight loss after their surgery, will have unaddressed needs. These needs can be nutritional such as micronutrient and protein deficiencies or psychiatric such as depression, bipolar spectrum, and substance dependencies being the most common. We are experienced with each of these issues and we can help. If you want to get the most out of your bariatric surgical experience, we look forward to working with you so that you can have great results and you can maintain those results for years to come.