Nowadays, prior to your weight-loss surgery date being scheduled, bariatric surgery candidates are required to undergo pre-operative counseling. This discipline was not a requirement when I had my procedure nearly a decade ago.
The Rational for Pre-Operative Counseling before Weight-Loss Surgery
The addition of this pre-operative assessment was deemed essential. Reportedly, it helps evaluate the overall physical and psychological condition of those who desire a bariatric surgical procedure to address their obesity versus other means to weight loss.
A psychiatric evaluation will be ordered to clarify the patient's understanding of possible risks and complications related to the bariatric surgery, as well as the need to follow the recovery plan. In addition, if psychological conditions such as substance dependence or mood disorders are present, they must be addressed. Bariatric patients are at risk for alcohol abuse after weight-loss surgery, and potentially marital stress after weight-loss surgery.
One of the critical purposes of the pre-surgical counseling is to make the client fully aware that long-term weight-loss requires a multidisciplinary approach. True lifetime obesity management is more than a bariatric surgical fix; it requires lifelong changes in diet and exercise and may involve emotional and psychological challenges.
All of you know by now that I advocate a mutlidisciplinary approach. And if you don't, then please take a moment to read my sharepost, Why Weight-Loss Surgery Fails and Why I Didn't. Changing my lifestyle is the reason that I have maintained a 100 lb weight-loss from gastric bypass surgery for nearly a decade.
A List of Pre-Weight-Loss Surgery Counseling and Tests
Pre-weight-loss surgery consultations may include meeting with a mental health professional, a heart specialist, and a dietician.
Required pre-surgical testing can and most likely will include blood studies, chest x-ray, echocardiogram, EKG, pulmonary function test, and a treadmill stress test to highlight a few.
A CBC, or complete blood count, will be done as part of your pre-surgical tests in order to measure various components in the blood including the red blood cells that carry oxygen, the white blood cells that combat disease, the hemoglobin that carries oxygen, the hematocrit or proportion of red blood cells to plasma, and the platelets that help with clotting.
A blood glucose test may be done to check for diabetes, as well as an ultrasound to check for gallstones. Sometimes the gall bladder is removed during gastric bypass surgery.
A GI evaluation may be ordered for patients who have gastrointestinal symptoms (heartburn, etc.) to identify potential problems such as reflux or peptic ulcer.
Because so many people who desire bariatric surgery have sleep apnea (a stoppage of breathing while asleep), sleep testing will probably be required. Breathing stops because the airway becomes blocked when the muscles relax during sleep. As there is increased potential for fatality from this disorder, it should be addressed prior to weight-loss surgery.
