Your Surgery Day

 
Before Leaving Home
We recommend that you shower in the morning on the day of surgery, but do not use any moisturizers, creams, lotions, or make-up.  Remove your jewelry and do not wear nail polish.  You may wear dentures, but you will need to remove them just prior to surgery.  Please bring your eyeglasses and a case if possible.

Hospital Admitting Procedures
Check-in at the Ambulatory Care Unit (ACU).  At the ACU, you will be asked to change your clothing and put on a hospital gown and slippers.  If you wear dentures, corrective lenses, or hearing aids you will be asked to remove them for safety reasons.  Please bring your own container.  The hospital staff will keep all your personal belongings in a safe place and give them back to you promptly after surgery.

You will be asked to sign an operative consent form, even though you may already have done so at your surgeon’s office.  Your signature indicates that the procedure has been explained to you, that you understand it, and that you have no further questions. 

Your blood pressure, pulse, respiration, oxygen saturation, temperature, height and weight will be measured.  An intravenous (IV) line will be placed in your forearm.  This allows fluids and/or medications into your blood stream.  You may also be given some medicine to help you relax.

 Anesthesia
The anesthesiologist will meet with you before your surgery to discuss the general anesthetic you will receive.  Once you are settled on the operating table, you will be connected to several monitors for your heart and blood pressure.  Compression boots are also applied at this time.   A quick acting sedative will be given through the IV tubing after you have breathed pure oxygen for a few minutes.  When general anesthesia is used, you will be sound asleep and under the care of your anesthesiologist throughout the operation. 

After you fall asleep, your anesthesiologist will slip an endotracheal tube through your mouth into your windpipe to guarantee that your breathing is unimpeded. A small plastic tube will be placed thru your mouth to empty your stomach and another tube called a urinary catheter will be placed to drain your bladder. An anesthetic gas that you will breathe and other medications that will be given through the IV catheter will keep you asleep and pain free.

Your surgery will take 2-3 hours. 

After Surgery
When your surgery has been completed, you will be moved to the recovery room.  It is common for patients to be drowsy and sometimes confused when they first wake up.  During this period, fully trained recovery room nurses will remain with you at all times.  Most patients will come out of the OR without the NG tube.  You will still have the urinary catheter in place.  The urinary catheter will usually be removed on the first post-operative day, or when you are comfortable enough to walk to the bathroom.  Following surgery you will receive blood thinner medication to prevent clots.  Your vital signs will be monitored regularly.  You will also be encouraged to do breathing exercises, and to get out of bed several times a day.

You will remain in the recovery room or Bariatric Unit over night until a swallow study is conducted the following morning.  This study allows the doctors to confirm there are no leaks in your new digestive tract.  Once this is determined you will be able to drink.  When your initial recovery is completed and all your vital signs are stable, you will be transported to your room.

Pain Control
Pain management is a primary concern for all members of your care team.  While some level of discomfort is expected, keeping your pain under control is necessary for your recovery.  It is normal that you will feel some pain following the surgery, particularly where the incisions were made or from the position your body was in during surgery.  Your pain will be greatest the day following surgery, but will decrease over the next several days.

When you feel pain you will be able to push a button to administer pain medication to yourself.  This method of administration is called “patient-controlled analgesia” (PCA).  As soon as you tolerate pills by mouth, your medical team will add oral pain medication.  Pain medication by mouth may be prescribed for the first few weeks following your hospital discharge as well.