Life after Surgery

Patient Responsibilities and Expectations

Successful long-term weight loss depends on your dedication to a new lifestyle. We have already reviewed the behavior modifications that must take place after surgery that are equally important in the first few weeks of recovery. You must also commit to monthly follow up visits for the first year, limit your alcohol intake and eliminate all use of nicotine products. Your rate of weight loss will vary based on your commitment to make life-changing modifications to eating and exercise routine.

Average weight loss with the Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band system is moderate yet consistent. If you follow the physician's guidelines, you can usually expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week in the first year after the operation. After one year, weight loss will usually continue and gradually decrease.

In order for you to understand your body after surgery. Scottsdale Bariatric Center has developed a Post-Operative Education seminar.

About a week after surgery, you will be required to attend a series of seminars that will give you tips and guidelines for success. These include:

• Psychological Fundamentals of Long Term Success
• Diet and Nutrition After Surgery and Your First Meal
• Exercise Fundamentals

You can also refer to the nutrition and fitness guidelines to ensure your post-operative success. During your post-operative class, we will guide you as you eat your first meal of solid food and answer any questions you may have about nutrition, fitness and recovery.

Follow-Up Visits for Gastric Bypass and Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band Patients.

To help ensure your health and your success after surgery, follow up is essential. We will see you about a week after surgery in our office and then monthly for the first year or as long as it takes you to reach your goal weight. After that, we would like to see you once a year as it is very important for long term that keep up to date on nutrition and vitamin levels.

 

At each appointment we will also check your overall physical condition and weigh and measure you with sophisticated equipment to calculate your body's water, fat and muscle make-up. If you have undergone the Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band procedure, we may also adjust the band during this visit.

We also reevaluate any medications you are taking to make sure they are still correct for you and review your plan for taking multi-vitamins including B12 and iron and calcium supplements. This first visit is a good time to review any questions you have about your recovery, diet or exercise.

Patient Support Groups
Support groups are a great place for you to share your questions, concerns and experiences. You can also learn from a great deal other patients' success stories and challenges.

Groups are confidential and led by psychologists or licensed clinical social workers offering a relaxed atmosphere. Medical, exercise and nutrition professionals are on-site to offer support and answer questions.

Groups are organized according to length of time post-surgery:

• Pre-op to 4 months post-op Gastric Bypass First Monday of every month, with the exception of federal holidays
  6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
• Pre-op to 4 months post-op Gastric Bypass and 5 months and beyond Third Wednesday of every month, with the exception of federal holidays
  6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

The support groups are sponsored by Scottsdale Healthcare and Scottsdale Bariatric Center. They are limited to Scottsdale Bariatric Center Patients only. Patients scheduled for surgery are required to attend at least one meeting pre-operatively. We also require post-operative patients to attend and participate as part of their follow-up and recovery. Adult family members or primary support people are also encouraged to attend; due to space issues, please limit the number of support people to one.

Support Groups are held at

Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Campus
Women's Center Conference Room
9003 East Shea Boulevard
Scottsdale, AZ 85260

Tucson Support Groups 10am-12pm:

July support group cancelled due to holiday.
August 2nd, 2008
September 6th, 2008

Located At: The Sheraton Tucson
5151 E. Grand Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85712

New Mexico Support Groups 6:30pm-8:00pm:

July 7th, 2008

August 4th, 2008

Located At: The Nativo Lodge
6000 Pan American Freeway NE
Albuquerque, NM 87109