You might be tempted to think that once you’ve had surgery, pretty much everything is over and done. But bariatric surgery is just one key step in your weight loss journey. Post-operative follow-up care is essential to your overall success.

Actually, patients who regularly go to their follow-up appointments almost always lose more weight than those who don’t. Even people with related illnesses have shown measurably better improvements when they go to all their recommended follow-up appointments.1 This includes those with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol issues.1 

Here are some of the reasons why regular follow-up visits are so important:

  • Aftercare helps you achieve – and maintain – your weight loss goals
    At the time you are released from hospital, it’s not possible to know how successful your operation has been from a weight loss perspective. For example, if you have gastric sleeve or gastric band surgery, you will generally lose weight over 12-18 months. But after a gastric bypass procedure, you might lose weight for up to 18-24 months.2  

    Different people follow different rates of weight loss. Your one-month and three-month follow-up appointments will help your surgeon understand how much weight you are likely to lose. If you are not losing much weight, your doctor and care team may have some ideas about how to improve your long-term outcomes.3 Maximising your success requires postoperative care and instruction.4
  • Aftercare provides the diet counselling your mind and body need
    Making the transition from liquids to soft solid foods takes counselling from a dietitian with experience treating people who have undergone gastric restrictive procedures. You’ll have to learn how to choose the right foods for a balanced diet and how to avoid high-calorie consumption. If you eat or drink too many calories, even the best bariatric procedure in the world won’t be successful. To ensure your weight loss lasts, follow-up visits are key.
  • Aftercare helps ensure the good nutrition you depend on – and deserve
    Some patients don’t get the proper amounts of vitamins and iron they need in the early stages of weight loss. Follow-up visits are necessary so your health is monitored, and so you receive any treatment you may require. Missing regularly scheduled appointments and blood tests after your operation could eventually lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. If deficiencies are severe, you may need shots or blood transfusions.
  • Long-term aftercare helps you ask questions that come up over the long-term
    It is normal and healthy to begin to regain some weight after peak weight loss. But it can be emotionally challenging to understand whether the amount of weight you regain is within expectations or higher than expected. On average, in the 8-10 years after surgery, people regain about 1/5th of the weight they had lost.5 But since there are many different weight loss trajectories, people’s experiences can be very different.

    You may find yourself asking, is this normal? Am I doing something wrong? If weight regain is higher than expected, the surgeon can help troubleshoot the problem: is the surgery still addressing hunger signals? Is the surgery still addressing how full you feel after a meal? A long-term relationship of annual visits with your surgeon can help you have this productive conversation 2-3 years after surgery. It also helps to talk to an expert regularly about your nutrition so any long-term effects of surgery can be managed.

How many visits will you need after surgery?6

During your first year after surgery, you’ll typically need 4-6 visits. After that, you will have an appointment every 6-12 months for an indefinite period. Here’s what the schedule typically looks like: 

  • 1st visit scheduled 2-3 weeks after surgery. 
  • 2nd visit scheduled 4-5 weeks after surgery; here you’ll get a new diet prescribed. 
  • Quarterly visits scheduled roughly every 3 months for the first year following surgery. 
  • Annual/biannual visits scheduled every 6-12 months after the first year, with annual follow-up visits continuing indefinitely.

Have realistic expectations

Everyone recovers slightly differently from bariatric surgery. Adjusting to your new weight loss lifestyle will be easier if you allow yourself the time you need to heal and have realistic expectations about what you can achieve. Positive relationships and healthy fitness and nutrition habits will help you reach and sustain your goals. And don’t forget to celebrate your weight loss progress! It will help you stay on the path to success that you deserve. 

What’s next for you?

First, of course, you need to think it over yourself. And if you’re potentially interested, you'll need careful evaluation by healthcare professionals to determine whether surgery is right for you.

In the meantime, you might want to read this article:

Curious about whether you might qualify for bariatric surgery? 

Find out here
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