Bariatric Post-Operative Care Plan

Life-long bariatric follow up

After bariatric surgery, regular post-operative follow up visits are important to ensure your complete recovery and a successful outcome. The discharge instructions will have the periodical follow-up visits listed.

Life-long follow up and support is critical to everlasting weight loss results. Your first visit will be scheduled 10 days to 2-3 weeks after surgery. You will be required to visit your surgeon regularly at three months, six months, nine months, twelve months, eighteen months and twenty-four months. Beyond two years, it would be advisable to continue yearly reviews with your bariatric team (all bariatric related appointments will be bulked bill with no additional expenses).

Throughout your follow up – you will always have easy access to our practice’s dietician and nurse which is inclusive within the program.

At each follow up visit, please keep your doctor informed of your recovery/progress and contact your doctor for any health concerns you have in between visits. Please call the office to make appointments for your visits.

Psychological Support Post-Surgery

Individualised, face-to-face consultations with our psychologist can be arranged during recovery and beyond to provide a wholistic approach to the lifestyle changes ahead. Sessions explore the patient’s patterns of eating and other lifestyle, personal, and interpersonal (family, social) factors that may underpin unhealthy habits and coping styles. An individually-tailored approach is developed to broaden the patient’s awareness of their personal issues and to equip them with strategies to foster sustainable change in the longer term. Common issues addressed at this point in time are unhealthy patterns of eating such as ‘emotional’, ‘comfort’ or ‘night’ eating and the factors that contribute to these unhealthy eating habits (e.g. stress, depression, anxiety, interpersonal and relationship issues, and low self esteem). Body image over concern is also commonly discussed.