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If you are preparing for bariatric surgery, it is likely that you are preparing yourself for what to expect after the surgery as well.
Will there be significant changes to your lifestyle that you should expect? Can you still eat your favourite foods and drink your favourite beverages? How much discomfort should you expect after you have undergone bariatric surgery?
These are some common concerns faced by our patients, and at G&L Surgical, we strive to ensure that all uncertainties are addressed before our patients proceed with any surgery.
Read on to find out more about your top questions about Post-Bariatric Surgery Care.
Bariatric surgeries are done in the hospital under anaesthesia. Patients will be administered an anaesthetic in the operation theatre and remain unconscious throughout the procedure.
While the specifics of each surgery differ, bariatric surgery usually requires some surgical incisions in your abdomen.
Nowadays, most types of bariatric surgeries are performed laparoscopically. Laparoscopic surgeries involve a doctor inserting a laparoscope through small incisions in the abdomen. A tiny camera attached to the tip of the laparoscope provides the surgeon with a visual of the inside of the abdomen, allowing them to operate without the need to make traditional large incisions.
Additionally, laparoscopic procedures allow for a quicker and shorter recovery period. However, laparoscopic procedures may not be recommended for everyone, and you are advised to seek the advice of a medical professional.
Most bariatric surgeries typically take several hours. After surgery, medical staff will monitor you for any complications, and you may be required to stay a few days in the hospital before being discharged.
While the amount of weight loss achieved may vary from person to person after bariatric surgery, several factors can impact how much weight is lost in the immediate months following the procedure.
Apart from the type of surgery that you have undergone, your weight loss progress may be influenced by other factors such as:
In general, patients who undergo a Sleeve Gastrectomy have been observed to lose an average of 40% of their excess weight.
On the other hand, patients who undergo Gastric Bypass can expect to lose an average of 60% of their excess weight.
Patients are usually recommended to avoid eating in the first two days after their surgery to allow the stomach and digestive system to heal. Following that, they will be prescribed a specific diet to follow for the next few weeks.
A liquid diet will usually be observed before progressing to soft foods or purees before resuming regular foods. Patients may also be advised about the amount and types of food that they can consume.
Apart from managing your diet, our doctor may also schedule frequent medical check-ups to monitor your health in the first few months after weight-loss surgery. Depending on individual requirements, our doctor may also require laboratory testing, blood work, and various exams to be done to assess your progress.
Most bariatric surgery patients should not experience severe postoperative pain. They should also be able to consume liquid without regurgitation. In most cases, patients are usually discharged within two days after their operation.
In the event of severe pain or complications after bariatric surgery, patients are recommended to stay for a more extended period of observation.
Depending on the surgical procedure, the recovery period may also differ.
Open surgery, where a larger incision is made in the abdomen, will require a longer recovery period than ones made through laparoscopic surgery.
If a patient undergoes open surgery, they will be required to stay in the hospital until the incision has healed enough for them to go home. This typically means 4 to 5 days spent in the hospital.
Upon discharge, they will also require time, usually a month, to fully recover before they can resume regular activities.
Patients will have to follow a liquid diet for the first week after their weight loss surgery.
They will progress to eating pureed food in the following week before moving to soft food within the next three weeks.
Two months after the surgery, most patients will be able to resume eating regular food; however, due to the size of the stomach pouch, the amount in which they can eat will be reduced compared to before surgery.
Our doctor may recommend specific dietary guidelines that need to be followed after your surgery, and this includes:
For patients who have undergone gastric banding, a sleeve gastrectomy (gastric sleeve), or a gastric bypass (Roux-en-Y gastric bypass), the pouch will stretch over time. Therefore, they may be advised to avoid overeating as the stomach pouch may stretch to its original size, leading to possible weight gain if not managed.
Your diet before the surgery should be targeted at helping you to lose weight. Losing weight before the surgery may help reduce the amount of fat around your liver and abdomen. This may also allow you to opt for laparoscopic surgery instead of an open one.
Laparoscopic surgery involves smaller incisions, requiring less recovery time and places less stress on the body.
Losing weight before surgery not only keeps you safer during the procedure but it also helps to prepare you for a new approach to eating healthy.
Your meal plan may begin as soon as you have been cleared for the procedure and advised by our doctor.
The purpose of the meal plans is also to help achieve some pre-op weight loss.
If sufficient weight loss does not occur despite following the meal plans, the procedure may be postponed or cancelled. For this reason, you should start on the diet plan as soon as you can.
The dietary guidelines for your meal plan may vary from person to person, but they may include the following:
The pre-op diet primarily consists of proteins. They can come in protein shakes and other high-protein, low-calorie foods that are easy to digest.
Protein acts as a fundamental booster for protecting and bolstering muscle tissue. This can help your body burn fat instead of muscle for fuel. Protein also helps keep your body strong, which is essential for your recovery.
Leading up to the days of your surgery, you may be required to follow a liquid diet.
Depending on the weight and overall health, some patients may be allowed to consume some solids in their pre-op meal plan. This might include fish, watered-down hot cereal, or soft-boiled eggs.
The post-surgery meal plan consists of several phases. Depending on your healthcare provider, what you can eat and drink, and how long each phase lasts may differ.
To achieve sustainable weight loss, all phases of the meal plan will focus on the importance of portion control, which will be an essential part of your life henceforth.
Phase 1: Liquid Diet
During phase 1, your nutritional intake is geared toward helping your body heal from surgery and preventing postoperative complications.
For the first few days, your diet would consist largely of liquids; you will only be allowed to drink a few ounces of clear liquid at a time. This helps your stomach heal without being stretched out by food.
After clear liquid, you will be to consume other forms of liquid such as:
Phase 2: Puréed Diet
A week after Phase 1, our doctor will assess if you can move on to Phase 2 of the diet. This phase would consist of food purées with a thick consistency.
To avoid irritating the stomach, you should avoid spicy seasonings, fruits with lots of seeds such as kiwi and strawberries and vegetables that are too fibrous to liquefy, such as broccoli and cauliflower.
At this phase, you are also advised not to consume fluids with your meals.
You may choose foods that are easy to liquefy, such as:
Phase 3: Soft Food
Phase 2 of your diet will last for several weeks. Once our doctor decides that your recovery is on schedule and your stomach is ready, you can start adding soft, easy-to-chew foods into your diet. This may include:
At this point, it is essential to consume small bites of food each time. This allows you to practise portion control while avoiding putting a strain on your stomach.
Phase 4: Stabilisation
Phase 4 of your diet includes the introduction of solid food back into your meals. This phase will usually be about two months after surgery.
Solid foods that are introduced back into the diet will have to be diced or chopped into small bites not to increase stress on your stomach. Due to the reduced size of the stomach, large pieces of food may cause a blockage, which can lead to pain, nausea and vomiting.
There will also be food and drinks to avoid. These include foods and beverages that are hard to digest, such as fibrous vegetables, tough meat, fried foods, hard, crunchy food, carbonated drinks and bread or bread products.
About four months after surgery, you may be able to resume eating normally.
Portion control is still vital to the entire weight loss regime. Your diet can consist of mostly fruits, vegetables, lean protein and carbohydrates. You are advised to avoid unhealthy foods which may be high in fat and calories.
Keeping to this advice may allow you to improve your health while ensuring that you do not put on the weight you have lost.
The guidelines for your postoperative diet will serve you throughout life. They include:
After undergoing bariatric surgery, your body may not be able to absorb vitamins and minerals as effectively as before. As a result, patients are usually prescribed multiple dietary supplements to make up for the loss of nutrients in the body.
Some of the typical vitamins and minerals that should be replenished include:
Our doctor will advise you on the amount of each vitamin and supplement required to be taken daily to prevent nutrient deficiency in your diet.
As with all surgeries, bariatric surgeries carry a level of risk of complication. Before proceeding with your procedure, our doctor will provide a detailed explanation of the risks and complications, both short term and long term, that you should be aware of.
Some possible complication after bariatric surgery may include:
Two possible complications may require more attention. They are Obstruction and Dumping Syndrome.
Obstruction occurs when the connection between your stomach and intestines becomes narrowed, leading to a blockage preventing bowel movement. Obstruction of the bowel can be an emergency.
You are advised to seek medical attention if you experience nausea, vomiting or stomach pain for more than two days after bariatric surgery.
Dumping Syndrome occurs when food or liquid consumed enters the small intestines too quickly and in large amounts, leading to diarrhoea and cramps within 10 to 30 minutes after eating.
Symptoms of the dumping syndrome include:
To avoid developing dumping syndrome, we usually advise patients to take at least half an hour to consume each meal (after the liquid diet phase). They are also advised to choose low-fat and low-sugar foods to reduce the stress on the stomach.
Drinking any fluid should only be done 30-45 minutes after each meal, and they should be sipped very slowly.
Apart from making changes to their diet, patients are advised to adopt a more active lifestyle after their surgery.
In the first month, low impact exercises such as walking and swimming would make good options for keeping active. As you are still recovering from your surgery, you are advised to go slow and allow your body to heal without putting a strain on yourself.
Over the next few months, you may consider building up to strength training and cardio workouts.
Thank you Dr Ganesh and the nurses at G&L Surgical. You gave me hope that I still can lose weight and look great.
I was above 100 kgs when I went to Dr Ganesh for help and he assured me that it was still possible to lose weight if I have the determination and willingness to do what it takes to lose weight.
I was afraid of undergoing any surgery so Dr Ganesh recommended the Saxenda Pen, it works wonders! I managed to lose 5kgs within a month and although I am still very far from my goal, this is definitely a very positive result for me.
So thankful to Dr Ganesh and Lisa for sharing the tips with me on how I can lose weight faster without starving myself. I can now still afford to eat the food that I want but just in moderation. Thank you and I look forward to more results!
I have had trouble losing weight for 4 years and almost gave up on it but my doctor told me that I need to lose weight or else I will be in trouble.
My friend recommended Dr Ganesh to me as he used to have weight problems last time. The first time I saw Dr Ganesh, I knew I found the right doctor. He was patient and listened to all methods that I have tried to lose weight and by that time I was very heavy.
Dr Ganesh recommended that I consider the saxenda pen or surgery if I wanted a faster way to lose weight. I chose to undergo the sleeve gastrectomy surgery since it showed a much more effective way to help me get rid of all those weight.
It’s been 2 months now and I have managed to shed off close to 9kgs and feel better. If you are also struggling with weight issues, definitely consider finding Dr Ganesh, I am glad I did.
I am so thankful to Dr Ganesh and his team!
For years, I couldn’t lose the excess weight I have and I could never find the solution. I was obese and feeling really down but only after finding him, he proposed that I should consider a sleeve gastrectomy due to my condition. I scheduled the surgery in a week and this is a month after I am done. So far, it has been great, I lost a total of 6kgs so far and I feel much lighter and happier.
I am so thankful and grateful to Dr Ganesh as he gave me hope that I can still do something about my weight and I have a chance to improve my health. God bless!
I have had weight issues for a long time due to some health problems. My friend recommended Dr Ganesh to me and I am thankful to have met this very encouraging and patient doctor. He seems to understand whatever problems I am facing and I could totally relate to him.
Based on my goals, Dr Ganesh recommended that I try the Saxenda Pen which has been very helpful for me. I have been using it for 3 weeks and I realised I am losing weight quite easily.
Due to my weight, I am also unable to do many exercises but Dr Ganesh advised me to do some light stretches which I am starting to do. So far, I have lost 2 kgs and I am happy with the progress. I do not feel stressed as well.
Thank you to the nurses at G&L clinic too, all of you are so supportive!
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