Seminar tonight and all the requirements
The seminar was good. She went over the different types of surgery and told us about how she modifies things after seeing a trend of issues. She is active in research, keeping up on the latest techniques and looking for ways to maximize patient success. Her surgery count is pretty low yet, but because of her continuous effort to improve things she's only had one leak and one hernia. I believe those were both with the RNY. She said the most common "complication" is dehydration, but she said they changed things around and the incidences of dehydration have gone way down. She's also developed a technique for the RNY to reduce incidences of nutrient deficiency.
Minimum requirements for scheduling of surgery:
Meet with dietitian at least 4 times
Meet with their therapist 4-6 times. I have seen their therapist for weight related issues previously so my requirement may be less.
Have an upper GI study (swallow barium) or a scope
Be up to date with all age appropriate cancer screenings.
No weight gain during the pre-op process
Consultation with physical therapy to set up exercise program
Establish a work-out routine of 3 times per week
Show evidence of the needed lifestyle change after surgery
Other studies or consultations
Blood tests for B12 and vitamin D deficiencies and then start on appropriate supliments
Meet with the outpatient pharmacist to discuss any modification to medication regimen
They also communicate frequently with your GP throughout this process.
Pre-op diet: 10 day very low calorie high protein
Post-op diet: there is a minimum 2 day hospital stay and during that time you progress, as tolerated, from clear liquids to full liquids to soft/pureed food. If you are not able to progress you stay longer. One person asked if she could leave in one day and the surgeon said NO.
The program team; consisting of the surgeon, the program nurse practitioner, physical therapy and nutritionist, meet twice a month to discuss the readiness of each patient.
She said it's still to early in the program to determine their long term success rate, but the two things they've seen thus far is those who attend the support group do better, and so far her sleeves have been more successful. She suspects the RNY and sleeve success rate will level off to the usual norms. She thinks the sleeves and support group attendees are more successful because they are more invested in the overall process.
The next step is to fill out the insurance and health history forms and mail them in. They check for insurance coverage before they call you to schedule the consult. I'll be dropping my forms off tomorrow morning while I'm there for my cardiology appointment.
