After Surgery

Following the Operation

Stapled gastroplasty can be performed in 1 1/2 to 2 hours while gastric bypass is generally performed in 2 to 3 hours. Family members and friends may wait in the surgical waiting room of the hospital during the operation. They will have an opportunity to speak with the surgeon shortly after the operation.

• Most patients spend several hours in the recovery room before returning to their room on the surgical floor.
  
  
• Patients with known cardiac or pulmonary problems usually spend one or two nights in the surgical intensive care unit so they can be more closely monitored.
  
  

Hospital Stay

	How long should I expect to be in the hospital?
	Anywhere from two to four days depending upon how you're feeling post-surgery.

For one or two days after all gastric operations, patients are given nothing by mouth (NPO) and remain on intravenous fluids. This is to minimize the possibility of leaks and also to allow normal gastrointestinal function to return following surgery.

All patients have a tube in their nose for 24 hours after the operation. This nasogastric tube is put in place in the operating room after the patient is asleep. It removes the mucus and blood which collect in the upper part of the stomach after the operation.

• Patients who can be removed from the respirator (breathing machine) on the day of the operation are helped out of bed (OOB) later that evening.
  
  
• On the second day after the operation, patients are offered cracked ice by mouth. On the third day, a clear liquid diet is started, followed by a modified full liquid diet on the fourth postoperative day.
  
  

DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3	DAY 4
• NPO • NG Tube • Out of bed (OOB)	• Cracked ice by mouth	• Clear liquid	• Modified full liquid diet (1000 calorie daily restriction)