What Can I Do to Prepare?
Bariatric surgery is like other major surgeries. You can best prepare by knowing the benefits and risks of surgery and by closely following your doctor's instructions.

To mentally prepare yourself:

• Understand the surgical process and what to expect afterward.
• Keep in mind that you’ll never be able to eat the way you did before, and that you’ll have to watch the way you eat for the rest of your life.
• Talk to people who have had bariatric surgery. You can hear the stories of other patients in the Voices of Experience section.
• Write a letter to yourself and your surgeon explaining your reasons for having bariatric surgery and outlining your plans to maintain your weight loss after surgery.
• Start a journal. Record how you feel now, the challenges you face, and the things you hope to be able to do after bariatric surgery.
• Get a letter of support from your family. It helps to know you have people behind you, waiting to help.

To prepare yourself physically, follow the guidelines that your doctor will give you. The guidelines will be based upon your procedure, your personal profile, and other factors. You want to ensure your best outcome, and the guidelines will help you accomplish that.

For many gastric bypass surgery patients, the long-anticipated day of surgery is an exciting end to a long wait. It’s often referred to by postsurgical patients as their “birthday,” because of the life-changing transformation of health they’ve achieved.

Preparing for the day of gastric bypass surgery is like preparing for many other surgeries: Your surgeon will have specific instructions for you to follow. A few of the more frequently given instructions include:

• Do not drink or eat anything prior to surgery, beginning the evening before the day of surgery.
• Most medicines can be taken the day of surgery, just with small sips of water (however, your doctor will have instructions regarding specific medications).
• Bring all of your medications with you.
• Bring your CPAP machine, if you have one, for use in the hospital.
• Arrive early; some hospitals and surgery centers require patients to be up to two hours early.

Again, your surgeon will give you specific instructions, especially regarding your medications, to prepare you for surgery.

When you arrive, you will undergo a few preoperative steps. You will change out of your clothes. You will see your nurses, and often, you will see your surgeon as well as your anesthesiologist. An IV line will be started to keep you hydrated and to administer medications such as antibiotics. The preoperative experience is often a short one, after which you will be taken to the operating room.

If you are not already under anesthesia before you get to the operating room, you will be once there. Then, you will be intubated and your surgeon will perform the operation. Gastric bypass procedures, whether they are minimally invasive or open, are fairly short … about 75 to 90 minutes.

After surgery, your healthcare team will make sure that your vital signs are correct and arrange for you to be taken to a recovery room

Keys to Successful Weight Loss Surgery

Although weight loss surgery is highly accepted as an excellent treatment for obesity, it requires your help to make it a success. We provide you with a tool (a very small stomach) to assist you in your weight loss efforts, but it is your responsibility to use this tool correctly. The surgery will allow you to be satisfied with much smaller portions of food, usually limiting your calorie intake to 800-1,000 calories a day. However, if you do not follow the guidelines, it is very easy to increase what you eat and gain weight. We encourage you to follow a few simple rules in order to make this weight loss surgery a success.
 

1. Avoid all sugar-sweetened beverages and food (such as regular soda, cakes, pies, cookies, ice cream, candy, etc.). 
2. Avoid all junk food including potato chips, corn chips, high fat crackers, pork skins, etc. 
3. Avoid all fried foods including french fries, fast food, fried chicken or seafood, etc. 
4. Start being more physically active. Although it is probably hard for you to exercise at your current weight, it will become easier as you lose weight. Exercising is the key to weight loss and maintenance after weight loss surgery. Your commitment to an exercise program will have a great impact on your success.
5. Take all prescribed vitamin supplements for the rest of your life. Maintenance of good health is necessary after gastric bypass surgery. Daily supplementation is REQUIRED FOR LIFE! 
6. Complete all follow up appointments for life. Follow up consists of four visits the first year after surgery, two visits the second year and yearly visits after that.

Smoking:  If you are a smoker, you must quit.  Stop smoking at least one month before your surgery.  Smoking makes you more likely to get pneumonia and breathing problems after surgery.  If you are a smoker, and do not quit smoking for 30 days prior to your operation – your surgeon will cancel your procedure.

Alcohol:  Do not drink any alcohol for 48 hours before surgery.  Beer, wine, mixed drinks and liquor are all alcohol.

Eating and Drinking:  Do not eat or drink anything after midnight the night before surgery.  If you do, we will not be able to do your surgery.

Medicines:  Ask your doctor about taking your daily pills (medicines) before you go to surgery.

Sickness:  If you have a fever, cold, cough or rash, call your doctor and tell him.  Your surgery may need to be done at a later time.

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