Frequently Asked Questions

The short answer is yes. However, this is not about making you do something just to have surgery or to torture you. This is about your safety. Losing weight before bariatric surgery is paramount to the success of the procedure. Believe it or not, losing 10-15 lbs on your scale is like your abdomen losing 80 lbs! During weight loss, your body strips fat from it's insides (around the organs, liver, etc) much faster than the outside (thighs, buttocks, waist line, etc). As a result, the surgery goes much smoother, staple lines form better, bleeding is less and overall complications are reduced.

With the robotic technique, there are only 5 small incisions and the pain is pretty minimal. Some patients may use mild narcotics for a day or 2, but there are many who don't use any pain medicine at all besides Tylenol.

Most patients say their incisions don't hurt at all, but they have shoulder pain or neck pain from the gas (CO2). CO2 allows us to blow the abdomen up during surgery, so we have room to work. The gas is removed right after surgery, but a few air bubbles may stick around and irritate the diaphragm. Diaphragm pain refers to the shoulders, so that is the most common complaint after surgery. However, the gas is outside the GI tract, so there isn't much you can do except get up and walk around to move the bubbles around and take your mind off it.

The day of surgery people are up walking the halls to prevent blood clots and drinking on clear fluids to get used to the new anatomy. Some patients go home the day of surgery, but the majority will go home the following morning. Once home, patients are able to be up and down stairs, lift light objects, perform light aerobic activity, shower, and drive a car once not taking any narcotics.

The majority of patients are able to return to work within 1 week if they work from home, have a desk job, or have light duty work. If your job is more strenuous then 2-3 weeks off is recommended.

One of the rare complications of bariatric surgery is a leak, or non-healing of the newly formed staple line (gastric sleeve) or anastomosis (new stomach to bowel connection for gastric bypass). Unfortunately, this can lead to a severe infection. The risk of this complication is only in the first few weeks after surgery while the stomach or new connection heals. During this time, we don't want to put any undue stress on the stomach, so patients are required to be on protien drinks and water only for the first 2-3 weeks. The diet is then advanced slowly to solid foods over the next couple weeks. But don't worry, you will have zero hunger after surgery and we will educate you every step of the way!

There are 3 main risks around the time of surgery- bleeding, blood clots, and leak. Fortunately, in the right hands, these complications are rare and range from 0.1% to 0.2%. The patient can play a big role in reducing these risks and that's why it's important to be fully invloved every step of the way. We have designed our pre-op and post-op educational program to ensure all patients have the best information possible to lower complications and achieve success long-term.

With the significant reduction in stoamch size, there isn't much room to eat very much. The focus is getting in your body's main nutritional needs like protein, water, and vitamins. However, you barely have room for the protein and won't be able to eat many vegetables (main source for vitamins and minerals for our body), if any, in the first several months. Therefore, it is required to take vitamin supplements after bariatric surgery. You will have classes before and after surgery to educate you on the proper kinds and amounts of supplements throughout the various stages of your recovery.

This is one of the most common concerns we hear from patients and understandably so. Fortunatley, the hair loss after bariatric surgery is temporary, and it's really more of a hair thinning. The time frame for hair thinning is from month 3 to month 6 and then regrowth occurs right away. The process is the result of the surgical trauma, drastic dietary changes, and the rapid weight loss. Patients can minimize the process by taking control of their nutritional guidelines from day 1 and taking all the prescribed supplements.

Dumping Syndrome is specific to gastric bypass surgery and contrary to popular belief (due to the name itself), it is not vomiting or diarrhea related to eating too much or eating the wrong food.

Dumping Syndrome is a low blood sugar attack 1-2 hours after consuming too much simple sugar like sweets. Patients may feel flushed, light headed, weak, jittery, or can even pass out. Their blood sugar has bottomed out due to their pancreas secreting too much insulin in response to the sugar load. It's a function of the food passing down stream and getting absorbed faster than their anatomy before the bypass. The treatment is taking in a little sugar like a glucose tablet or some juice. This will treat the low blood sugar and not cause another attack. However, the real key is prevention and avoiding simple sugars! These are some of the most tempting and addicting calories that can ruin your weight loss goals.

Potentially. The elasticity of the skin is genetically programmed. If you stretch your skin past that predetermined limit of elasticity, it will not snap back. It is not a function of losing weight slower or faster. It is not a function of exercising more or less. We want you to exercise, and we want you to lose weight as fast as possible. These factors have nothing to do with the amount of excess skin you may have; even rubbing lotions or other concoctions on your skin will make no difference.

As a general rule, the younger you are and the less weight you have to lose, the less excess skin there will be. As you lose weight, exercise may improve the hanging skin by increasing muscle tone. You can also help your skin through good nutrition and hydration. Some patients find loose skin enough of a problem to have plastic surgery. If you decide to have surgery, we have a list of excellent plastic surgeons that have done great work for our patients.

Women can have healthy babies after weight loss surgery, and it is one of the most rewarding parts of this field! BUT, It is strongly recommended you wait at least 18 months after surgery before trying to conceive. Women should know that fertility usually increases with weight loss so be sure to take extra precautions during the first 18 months. After 18 months, it is perfectly safe to get pregnant. At this point, your body will be fairly stable from a weight and nutrition standpoint. Plus, with the improvement in health problems like diabetes and hypertension, your chance of a healthy pregnancy is dramatically improved.