On the day of surgery, you will report to the desk.  When it is time, you and your family member will be taken to the Surgery Department.  Here the nurses will prepare you for the operating room (putting the hospital gown on, starting the IV, etc.).  You will then meet your anesthesiologist, the doctor who will give you medication to make you sleep during surgery.  If you need some medication to help you with anxiety, please ask the doctor at this time.

Be prepared to spend a generous amount of time in the pre-operative area as extra time has been allotted to assure you are not rushed and to accommodate the variability in the OR schedule.

If you are using a CPAP or BIPAP machine for your sleep apnea, you should bring it with you on the day of surgery and give it to the nursing staff when you are being prepared for the operating room. This way, we can test the machine while you are in the OR and have it ready for you to use in the recovery room after the completion of your operation.

When your surgery is finished, the surgeon will visit with your family to let them know how you are doing.  It is important for them to stay in the room if they want to meet with the doctor after your surgery is completed.

Recovery Room

When your surgery is finished, you will be moved to the recovery room.  This is where you will wake up.  The nursing staff will be testing your breathing, blood pressure, and pain control.  It is important for you to be able to communicate how much pain you are having. You will normally spend one to two hours in the recovery room.

A multimodal anesthetic will be used so that you have maximal pain control with minimal side effects.  Your anesthesia will be personalized to your needs and as a result, most patients have minimal pain or discomfort.  You will not be discharged from the operating suite to your room unless your pain is controlled.

Post-Op

After arriving in your hospital room, you will be assisted in getting out of bed. You will be expected to walk within four hours of arriving to your room. Even walking in place is very beneficial in preventing blood clots and improving lung function.

Gastric Bypass and sleeve gastrectomy patients will first be started on a liquid diet and then will be advanced to a pureed diet as tolerated. You will be asked to use a machine called an incentive spirometry and to breathe deeply and cough to help prevent pneumonia.

Gastric Banding patients will be discharged in the afternoon on the day of surgery. Gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy patients will be discharged on post-op day one or two.

Prior to discharge from the hospital, we will again review your post-operative regiment, including medications, diet, activity, and answer any further questions.