At Goal
Seeing Your Surgeon
by Terry Simpson, MD, FACS
One consistent feature with patients who get to goal is that they have learned how to take care of themselves. Seeing your surgeon is an important part of the puzzle of getting to your goal and staying there. But for how long?For band patients, this is easy—you need to see your surgeon as often as you need an adjustment (whether to the head or to the band), and my colleagues in New York nicely pointed this out. Drs. Ren and Fielding showed that the more often a patient came to see them, the more excess weight he or she lost. What about other patients, those who have the RNY, DS, or VBG? The same principle applies. While there may not be an adjustment of a band, what needs to occur is something your surgeon is uniquely set up to help you with—learning to use the tool you have.
While pre-operative education is important, often it is after the surgery that the lessons become clear. How to eat? What to eat? When to eat? What about hair loss? What vitamins, and how much protein? Is vomiting normal or not normal? Do I need labs? When do I start B12 shots? What about iron and calcium? Should I take extra vitamins A, D, E and K?
Learning about your anatomy, learning that you should eat a portion and not eat until you are full, learning that iron and calcium don’t mix: these are all parts of what makes a successful patient.
Having surgery without follow-up is like buying a car and never getting the oil changed—sure, it will run for a while, but when it stops, it is very expensive to get it going again.
Some of us have written books for both WLS patients and primary care physicians who are increasingly taking over the care of these patients to learn about their new anatomy. But they are no substitute for seeing your surgeons and their staff and learning all you can about your anatomy.
If you have a band, you can also get an adjustment while you are seeing your surgeon, but more important than the adjustment to the band is the adjustment we make to your brain.
One simple rule: if you ever go to the hospital for abdominal pain, whenever possible, go to the hospital where your weight loss surgeon is on staff. If you went out of town for your surgery, get to know who might be able to take care of you in your city; sometimes this means a visit to another weight loss surgeon. In fact, it is almost always best to go to the hospital where your bariatric surgeon is on staff—it may save your life.
To learn more, see Dr. Simpson’s book Weight Loss Surgery: A Lighter Look at a Heavy Subject.
Click here for the PDF version of this article from its appearance in OH Magazine
Click here for the PDF version of this article from its appearance in OH Magazine
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