After your bariatric surgery, we are committed to life-long follow-up of your surgery. This is in the form of support groups, post-operative follow-up, newsletters, tips-of-the-week, and availability of your surgeon, our bariatric internist and our psychologist.
 

Support Groups
We have regularly scheduled support groups that meet at least once a month. For the most recent support group schedule, call the office or hospital.


Post-Operative Care
After the gastric bypass, we will have a planned follow-up: 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months and then annually after your operation.

After the LAP-BAND®, we will plan on having your first visit one week after your surgery. The first adjustment to the LAP-BAND® occurs on the 6 week post-operative visit. This allows time for the band to scar in place and to minimize the chance of the band slipping out of position. Subsequent visits depend on your weight loss. At a minimum, we want you to follow-up with our program every three months during the first year of surgery. However, some patients may require visits every two weeks until the band is appropriately adjusted. The average patient undergoes four adjustments until the ideal tightness is established. The LAP-BAND® generally requires adjustments when patients are feeling hungry, not losing weight and not having satiety early after eating. Sometimes the band is too tight and fluid needs to be removed from the band. Patients whose band is too tight are unable to eat any solid foods.

 
Psychological Support
Change is stressful - even if that change is good. Losing significant weight can cause jealousy in your relationships with friends and family and depression may occur in patients that have difficulty adapting to the major change in their appearance and health. Our dedicated bariatric psychologist is available for consultations in helping our patients deal with stressors that are common.