Nutrition – After Bariatric Surgery
Dramatic changes are required after having bariatric surgery. You may have more questions than answers when you first begin your journey towards bariatric surgery. The program at Texas Bariatric Specialists is designed to educate you each step of the way. You will be required to complete a private initial nutrition consult, a preoperative nutrition class, and a postoperative nutrition class.
Before surgery, we will address your present nutritional needs and concerns, discuss potential nutritional complications that you could develop after surgery and identify deficiencies that you may have at present (most often Vitamin B12, Vitamin D and Iron).
Two weeks prior to surgery you will attend the preoperative nutrition class. During this class, you will be given a comprehensive guide full of information to address all your questions about nutrition prior to surgery and after surgery. At this preoperative class, the instructor will review the detailed instructions for the required pre-operative diet and your first diet phase after surgery. At the time of this class you will also be required to purchase your preop kit in preparation of the protein and vitamin supplements you will need before and after surgery.
Prior to being discharged from the hospital, the staff nutritionist at the hospital will review the diet instructions again and ensure that you have the appropriate nutritional supplements at home. Two weeks following surgery, you will be required to attend our postoperative nutrition class. At this point you will be taught about the next phases of your diet.
All of this will be done for you in a step-by-step manner, providing detailed instructions and oversight by your surgeon and the staff nutritionist. Once you have done your postoperative diet for approximately 3 months, a comprehensive set of labs will be required to evaluate your nutritional status. This will help us make sure you are losing weight in a healthy manner. The frequency of follow-up appointments and labs will be required based on your surgeon’s judgement.
Nutritional support after bariatric surgery is important regardless of which procedure you have. Nutritional complications can occur after any weight-loss surgery, including the lapband and the sleeve gastrectomy. Follow-up screening is done at least once a year after you reach your weight loss goals, regardless of the type of surgery performed.
Our lifelong follow-up program is designed for your overall health and success.