After your weight loss surgery, your diet will be advanced as you tolerate the diet recommended for the procedure you have just undergone. The intravenous fluids will be stopped once you can drink enough liquids. You will be sent home with the following instructions:

• You may experience some abdominal discomfort from the gas used to blow up your abdomen for the surgery. Most of this is removed at the end of the operation. The remaining will be absorbed into the blood and removed by breathing it out your lungs in about 5-7 days.
• If you experience severe abdominal pain, have a temperature of more than 38.5° C or vomit blood, present yourself immediately to the Royal Victoria Hospital emergency room and ask that Dr. Christou be contacted immediately.
• Remove the dressings over your small cuts if the nurse has not already done so. Leave the wounds exposed to the air, unless there is a lot of liquid drainage. In that case, apply a clean dressing (which you can obtain from any pharmacy) and call nurse-clinician's office at 934-1934 ext.: 36887.
• You may take showers when you go home and allow soap and water to run over your cuts. Do not rub the face cloth over them as this can dislodge the clips and start bleeding. Let the wounds dry and keep them uncovered.
• Crush all large pills (pain killers, vitamins, etc.) and mix them in the recommended liquid (or pureed food, if you are at that stage in your diet) to prevent them from obstructing the outlet of your pouch.
• Walk as much as possible for the first 4 weeks (get a podometer to assess your progress). After, you should start a regular exercises program..
• If not already given to you call to make an appointment to see your surgeon within 10-14 days of your surgery. At this visit we will assess your health, the clips will be removed, your weight will be taken and all wounds will be examined. Your diet will be monitored and fine-tuned as needed.
• Subsequent visits at the Bariatric Clinic will be:
  • for Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass and VSG surgery : at 1 month, 3 months, and 12 months after your surgery. Subsequent visits for follow-up will be every 12 months. Weight and diet history will be monitored and you will have appropriate blood tests to ensure that you are not developing vitamin and iron deficiencies.
  • for Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding: usually every 8 weeks {depending on your progress} until band adjustment is optimal.
• Because of the limitation of food intake imposed by the surgery, you will not be able to take in all the required vitamins and minerals - so vitamin supplementation is important. The following should be taken every day for the rest of your life:
  1. Multivitamins such as Centrum Forte 1 per day. Twice a day if it is a children chewable vitamin, once a day if it is an adult chewable vitamin.
  2. Calcium-D – 500 mg twice a day. Now we are recommending Calcium Citrate + Vit D instead of Caltrate because it is better absorbed after Gastric Bypass Surgery.
  3. Vitamin B12 - 250 micrograms twice a day.
  4. Palafer 300 mg po once per day for menstruating women.
     
     Vitamin deficiencies such as vitamin B12 can lead to paralysis if not detected and treated, so your post-operative follow-ups are extremely important. Basically, you will be with us for the rest of your long and happy life after the surgery.