When it’s time to get the ball rolling on your weight loss surgery, there is a process we follow in order to properly assess the patient and determine the surgical plan. This will start with the initial appointment. For many patients that first initial appointment can be quite daunting as you won’t know what to expect. In this article, we discuss the key aspects of a consult, and why each part is necessary.
Discuss the Types of Weight Loss Surgery and the Right One For You
In a weight loss surgery consultation, we go over the kinds of procedures that are available and relevant to you. There is gastric sleeve surgery, mini-gastric bypass surgery, SADI-S, SASI-S, and RYGB gastric bypass surgery. We will go over each surgery in order to discuss and determine which one would suit you best and help you achieve the weight loss. You will learn about the risks of each surgery and what the aftercare process will look like.
Psychological Evaluation
One of the things that are going to be done before the process for surgery gets started is a psychological screening. The whole purpose of getting weight loss surgery is to help you reduce your weight, the surgery alone won’t achieve that. Lifestyle choices like diet and exercise are going to play a huge role in the long-term success of the procedure. Through evaluation, we are able to ensure that the patient is prepared for and committed to the diet plan that will help them achieve their results. Knowing that you have the emotional readiness to deal with the changes and to maintain the changes in the long-term is an important aspect of being a good surgery candidate.
Health and Medical History
There will also be an in-depth screening of your medical history, current diet and an assessment of your general health. In order to be a candidate for the surgery, we have to determine factors like whether you’ve attempted to lose weight before, that you have conditions like type-2 diabetes and sleep apnoea due to your weight. We’ll do a thorough check of your medical history before going any further. You can expect to be asked questions about your current diet and the weight loss measures you’ve tried before. There will also be questions about the quality of your sleep, and if you’ve experienced any sleep breathing disorders. The goal is not to be invasive, but rather to gather as much information as possible to help us create the best pre-surgery and post-surgical plan.
Go Over Patient Questions and Concerns
It’s important for patients to feel heard, so in the first consultation we discuss what your goals are, not only in terms of the weight loss but the other benefits you want to have like a healthier lifestyle. We also give you room to ask us questions and discuss any fears or concerns you have about the surgery. There is no need to keep your concerns a secret, in order to give you the support you need, an open line of communication from both sides is important.
Discuss Next Steps
Once the necessary screenings and assessments are done, we’ll also need to start working on a pre-surgery preparedness plan. This is where we would discuss whether you need to lose weight before the procedure, and the diet we can put in place to help you achieve that.
All of the information we get in the initial appointment helps you have the successful surgery, as well as the right long-term plan to help you lose weight and keep the weight off. It equips us properly to help you and equips you with what you need for you to maximise the benefits of this procedure. If you want to learn more about Dr Kevin Dolan and the team, get in touch with us today. You can also read about the experiences of other patients.