After Gastric Band Surgery - Obesity Surgery Guide


What happens after the surgery?

As a result of this procedure your stomach will be a lot smaller which means you will have to get used to smaller portions of food.

The gastric band will not be filled until the stomach has healed from your surgery.  This means you will have to wait six to eight weeks before your first fill. 

For the first two weeks post-surgery you will be on a liquid diet.  Then two weeks of semi-solid food such as soups, purees etc.  And then you will be able to eat solid food.  The aim is to get you used to eating smaller portions of normal foods.  Some people report that they are still able to eat the same size meals as before but this will change once they have their first fill.

The tighter the band the smaller the stomach and passageway between the pouch and the lower stomach.  This means food will take much longer to move from the pouch to the lower stomach and you will become full a lot sooner than you think.  Your calorie intake will be reduced and you will lose weight.  If the band is slackened then more food will be able to travel between the pouch and the lower stomach.  This means an increased calorie intake and it will take longer for you to become full.  This will slow down weight loss.

Your progress with this will be monitored by your surgeon and dietician. 

It cannot be stressed enough that you MUST listen to your band.  In other words, getting a feel of what you can eat, what size portions and when.  This means chewing your food slowly and stopping when you are full.  If you try and eat too quickly or too much then your band will let you know.  You will experience nausea and vomiting and other uncomfortable symptoms if you do.

Your surgeon and dietician will be able to advise you further regarding your diet.  This and regular follow up visits forms part of your aftercare regime.  It is essential that you stay with this in order to ensure that you maintain your weight loss plan.   

How do the adjustments work?

Your first adjustment takes place six to 8 weeks post-surgery.  You will then be asked to visit your clinic or hospital where the first fill will take place under X-ray.

An adjustment means that fluid is injected or removed from the gastric band via the access port. 

Saline solution will be injected into the band via the access port.  This may take several attempts in order to try and get the right amount of restriction so please be patient.

Note: these band adjustments are painless.

After the adjustment, you will be asked to drink a glass of water.  This is just to make sure that you can tolerate fluids and that everything is working alright.  If there are no problems then you can return home. 

You will be asked to consume only liquids for the first three days after this adjustment, followed by three days of semi-solid foods.  This is just to ensure that no swelling occurs.  After that you can return to eating normal solid food.

You may find that you undergo four to five of these adjustments in the first year after surgery.  After the first one the rest can be done in a consulting room rather than an X-ray department. 

The idea of these adjustments is to check that the band is working and that you are losing weight.  You will notice that this is the case but please resist the temptation to have the band tightened in order to speed up weight loss.  Weight loss is an individual thing and so we advise you not to compete with other patients. 

Weight Loss

You will find that you will lose around 50 to 60% of your excess weight, although this will mainly be in the first twelve months following surgery.  
 
This is an average figure as all people are different and some will lose more weight than others and vice versa. 

After the first year, weight loss will slow down and may reach a plateau (stable level) in the second year.

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