Intragastric Balloon Surgery

Side Effects

The most important thing is to get used to the balloon. You will experience abdominal cramps, bloating, nausea and even vomiting, but this is to be expected as your stomach adjusts to the balloon. With some patients, however, the reaction is quite severe and sustained, necessitating removal of the balloon and consideration of other weight reduction options.

Diet and Lifestyle

Needless to say, you will have to make significant changes in your diet and lifestyle. In the first few hoursyou will be allowed minimal quantities of water, to be ingested in small sips. For three days following the procedure you will have to limit food intake to liquids such as low-sugar fruit juices and thin soups, but a week after that you will be allowed semi-solids and, another week later, normal solid food – depending on dietary advice given you.

Physical Activity

As far as physical activity is concerned, it should be kept to a minimum for a whole week after balloon insertion, and should be increased only after you have become used to the balloon.

Post-Operative Adjustments

In the course of the six-month period (usually after 3–4 months), you might feel hunger pangs more often. This might require the balloon to be further expanded using the endoscopy procedure. Conversely, the balloon volume might be reducedif your body shows intolerance toward it.
Intragastric Balloon Surgery is usually just part of a larger weight reduction effort that involves strict dieting, an exercise regimen, lifestyle adjustments, and regular consultations with your doctor and dietician.

Laparoscopic Gastric Banding

Post-Procedure Care

Post surgery, you will need to spend a day or so at our facilities, so that we can check on your condition before releasing you. However, some gastric banding operations are now carried out as a day case, with no overnight stay and patients are allowed to leave after only a few hours of rest.

Food and Diet

Generally, a fluid diet is recommended for the first two weeks, followed by two weeks of pureed, soft, thick food. You can start having regular food on week five, and must ensure daily intake of proteins with multivitamins and minerals to prevent any possible nutritional deficiency.

Bandages

Your wounds will have dressings, which you must keep on for the first three days after the procedure. You may take showers with these dressings. They may removed on the fourth day and replaced with paper steri-strips, which should be allowed to fall off on their own.
Wounds
If your wound areas become red and hot to the touch, please contact the office immediately. You may need a course of antibiotics.

Medications

You can resume all previous medications – preferably powdered and mixed with some yogurt – on the day you get home. For gas relief, use medication advised by our doctor.

Vomiting

You may experience vomiting if you eat too quickly, do not chew your food well, eat too much, okr eat fatty or greasy food. Take your time eating, and chew well. If vomiting continues, despite these precautions, go back to fluids for 24 hours to give your stomach a rest.If vomiting persists for more than two days, contact us.

Diarrhoea

You may experience diarrhoea after the gastric swallow test, which is administered on your first follow-up visit after surgery. Take over-the-counter anti-diarrheal medication, e.g., Imodium AD or Kaopectate, as directed by your physician. If diarrhoea persists for more than two days, call our office.

Band Adjustments

Your band will need to be tightened if your weight loss plateaus or if you continue to be hungry after eating. This is a simple procedure, which is conducted at our centre. Late post-operative care might also include readjustment of your band if it has slipped, or replacement if it has eroded.

Follow-up Visits

Keeping in touch with our doctors and dieticians is absolutely necessary. They need to be informed of your progress, and you need to know if adjustments need to be made in your diet, lifestyle, or even the Gastric Band.

Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery

SGS is for life. Therefore, you should be ready to commit yourself to long-term changes in lifestyle and diet.
Bathing
You may shower 48 hours after surgery. No tub baths, swimming or hot tub use for 4 weeks following surgery.

Dressings

The dressings must be kept dry for 48 hours after surgery, after which you may remove the top dressings. The lower steri strips must be left on, and will eventually fall off with regular bathing. Those that remain will be removed after two weeks, during your first post-op visit.

Hygiene

Your umbilical area may drain a clear light brown or pale red colour fluid. This is ok as long as the drainage is not pale yellow or tan in colour. You will notice a clear glue like substance over your incisions. This will peel off by itself, but your incisions should be cleaned once a day with Hydrogen Peroxide and a cotton ball or gauze. Gently clean the bellybutton with Hydrogen Peroxide or alcohol only if it is draining. Do not use Q-Tips / Earbuds!

Food and Drink

You will be placed on a liquid-only diet for the first week. In the two weeks that follow, you will be allowedsoft, pureed foods, and then solid foods from the fourth week onward. This food plan is to give the stomach tissues along the staple line time to heal and fuse together, so that there is no chance of leakage in the future.
Once back on solid foods, you must learn to eat very slowly, consume only small quantities of food at a time, and chew the food to a complete pulp before swallowing. You must also avoid drinking while eating, so as not to wash out ingested food from the stomach before it is given enough time for digestion.

Vitamin Supplements

As you will be consuming less food that usual, you will need to take additional vitamin supplements so as not to risk nutritional deficiency problems.

Exercise

Regular exercise will help you maximise the gains from your weight loss programme. It will accelerate body fat reduction, increase your energy levels, and stave off weight gain.However, lifting, pushing, pulling or tugging over 11 kg is to be avoided for 4 weeks.

Regular Follow-up

You must keep in close and constant touch with your doctor and dietician because there is a chance that you might develop an eating disorder or regain weight down the road. Our specialists will help you make the adjustments you need to make, and keep you on the right track thereafter.

SOS

You need to call your doctor if:
• Abdominal pain is not relieved by pain medication
• There’s shortness of breath or increase in breathing
• Rapid (or increase in) heart rate
• Bleeding from the incision(s), in vomit or stool would be black or maroon in colour.
• Nausea of vomiting is not relieved by prescribed medications, or if they prevent fluid intake

Nausea and Vomiting

These symptoms are to be expected, but if they are frequent, you need to call your doctor. However, you must try to finish your meal within 25 minutes, eating slowly, chewing well, and not keeping long pauses between mouthfuls. The idea is to have a complete meal on a smaller stomach and not overeat (which might lead to nausea and vomiting).

Frothing

As the stomach lining heals, mucous is sometimes excreted to help break down food. With some patients, this mucous will causes frothy clear vomiting. This is not a complication, and usually resolves by the third month. To prevent it, try drink hot water a half hour before meals to emulsify the mucous.

Gas Pains

Post-operative gas pains are common. They can be quite severe. To relieve them, increase your activity level by doing more walking. You may also use OTC anti-gas preparations.

Hair Loss

If you notice hair loss/thinning, especially around the third month after surgery, you should increase your protein intake, as hair loss is often attributable to protein deficiencies.

Bowel Habits

Temporary bowel changes are to be expected, and these range from constipation to diarrhoea. If bowel movement doesn’t occur by the second day, use a mild laxative such as Milk of Magnesia. Watch for maroon or blood-tinged stools. They usually indicate the need formedication to reduce the chance of ulcers.

Headaches

If you’re on anti-depressants, stoppage of the same might lead to headaches. Resume taking your depressants immediately, but avoid slow-release medications. In fact, where medications are concerned, it is better to consult your doctor.

Laporoscopic Roux en Y Gastric Bypass Surgery

In-Hospital Care

You will have to stay in the hospital for 3–5 days after surgery, and will not be allowed to eat for the first three days. You will be asked to sit at the side of the bed and walk a little the same day you had surgery. You will most likely have a tube that goes through your nose into your stomach for 1 or 2 days, to help you drain fluids from your belly. In addition, you might need a tune to your bladder to remove urine, and another connected to the bypassed part of your stomach to drain fluids.

Dieting and Exercise

It is vital that you follow the advice on dieting and exercise given by your doctor. It will be difficult to keep your side of the bargain, but if you do, you can be assured of healthy weight loss over the long term, without any health complications.

Medicines

You will be given shots to prevent blood clots and receive pain medicine, and receive pain medicine in tablet form or through an intravenous tube.

Dumping Syndrome

This happens when food passes too quickly from the stomach pouch and into the intestine – usually, when patients eat sweets or certain carbohydrate sources, or eating too much at a time. Symptoms include nausea, cramping, diarrhoea, general weakness, profuse sweating, vomiting, palpitations.
In the event of this happening, make a note of problem foods and avoid their intake. Dumpingdoesn’t require medicines and can be resolved by a change in diet.

Nutritional Supplementation

You will require a lifetime of nutritional supplementation. If you follow the instructions of the nutritionist and continue to take supplements regularly, you will not develop nutritional deficiencies.

Gastric Imbrication Surgery

(NO AVAILABLE DATA. TAKEN FROM GASTRIC SLEEVE, WITH A FEW MODIFICATIONS – PLS CHECK)

Bathing

You may shower 48 hours after surgery. No tub baths, swimming or hot tub use for 4 weeks following surgery.

Dressings

The dressings must be kept dry for 48 hours after surgery, after which you may remove the top dressings. The lower steri strips must be left on, and will eventually fall off with regular bathing. Those that remain will be removed after two weeks, during your first post-op visit.

Food and Drink

You will be placed on a liquid-only diet for the first week. In the two weeks that follow, you will be allowed soft, pureed foods, and then solid foods from the fourth week onward.

Vitamin Supplements

As you will be consuming less food that usual, you will need to take additional vitamin supplements so as not to risk nutritional deficiency problems.

Exercise

Regular exercise will help you maximise the gains from your weight loss programme. It will accelerate body fat reduction, increase your energy levels, and stave off weight gain.However, lifting, pushing, pulling or tugging over 11 kg is to be avoided for 4 weeks.

Regular Follow-up

You must keep in close and constant touch with your doctor and dietician because there is a chance that you might develop an eating disorder or regain weight down the road. Our specialists will help you make the adjustments you need to make, and keep you on the right track thereafter.

Emergency

You need to call your doctor if:
• Abdominal pain is not relieved by pain medication
• There’s shortness of breath or increase in breathing
• Rapid (or increase in) heart rate
• Bleeding from the incision(s), in vomit or stool would be black or maroon in colour.
• Nausea of vomiting is not relieved by prescribed medications, or if they prevent fluid intake

Nausea and Vomiting

These symptoms are to be expected, but if they are frequent, you need to call your doctor. However, you must try to finish your meal within 25 minutes, eating slowly, chewing well, and not keeping long pauses between mouthfuls. The idea is to have a complete meal on a smaller stomach and not overeat (which might lead to nausea and vomiting).

Gas Pains

Post-operative gas pains are common. They can be quite severe. To relieve them, increase your activity level by doing more walking. You may also use OTC anti-gas preparations.

Hair Loss

If you notice hair loss/thinning, especially around the third month after surgery, you should increase your protein intake, as hair loss is often attributable to protein deficiencies.

Bowel Habits

Temporary bowel changes are to be expected, and these range from constipation to diarrhoea. If bowel movement doesn’t occur by the second day, use a mild laxative such as Milk of Magnesia. Watch for maroon or blood-tinged stools. They usually indicate the need for medication to reduce the chance of ulcers.

Laser + Ultrasound Assisted Liposuction

Compression Garment

A compression garment will have to be worn to provide even, all-round pressure and help reduce swelling and discomfort if suction is done on the knees, thighs, hips, or abdomen. The garment is not to be removed, except for showering or bathing, until the second or third day after surgery. Ideally, circumferential pressure is required for 4-6 weeks, but you may switch to an exercise garment made of Lycra or Spandex if it is easy to slip on or remove to go to the toilet.

Ice Packs

In ultrasound-assisted liposuction, the amount of swelling and bruising is minimal. However, the application of an ice pack is recommended on affected areas.

Showering and Bathing

You may shower or bathe the day after surgery.

Massage

You may ask for a gentle massage during your post-operative course.

Post-operative Visit

You must visit us 3–4 days after surgery for a check-up. Stitches will be removed one week after surgery.

Exposure to Sunlight, Avoidance of Hot Tubs

You will need to protect surgical sites from sun exposure for three months after surgery. Hot tubs will also have to be avoided during this period.

Activity / Sports

Avoid straining or any aerobic activity for at least two weeks after surgery, after which only light exercise is allowed for two weeks. We will advise you on what level of activity to pursue at any given time, but remember that the more you rest, the quicker recovery will be.

Driving

You must wait at least two days. After that, you may drive only if you are in full control of your reflexes and not inhibited by even the slightest pain.

Sun Exposure

Fresh scars exposed to the sun tend to become darker and take longer to fade, so sunscreen can help. If the area is numb, you need to be extra-careful as you will not feel sunburn developing!

Bruising and Swelling

Bruising and swelling are normal in the suctioned areas. These will begin to decrease over 3-4 weeks, but swelling might take as long as 6-9 months to disappear completely. The compression garment helps reduce the swelling, and the longer it is worn, the faster the process of healing will be.

Numbness

Scattered numbness in the suctioned areas occurs occasionally and will disappear within a few weeks.

Lumpiness

As you heal, suctioned areas may feel “lumpy” and irregular. This decreases with time, and massaging those areas will hasten their softening.

Medications

You will be given medications to aid post-operative recovery. If you experience abnormal symptoms, such as a rash, wheezing, and tightness in the throat, you must discontinue using medication and consult the doctor, as you might be having an allergic reaction to the medicines prescribed.