After Surgery

Following the Operation

Lap Band can be performed in about an hour 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 about an hour 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 one to three days depending upon how you're feeling post-surgery.

After all gastric restrictive operations, patients are given nothing by mouth (NPO) and remain on intravenous fluids for 24 hours. This is to minimize the possibility of leaks and also to allow normal gastrointestinal function to return following surgery.

• 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 day after the operation, patients are offered cracked ice by mouth, followed by a clear liquid diet. A modified full liquid diet will start on the fourth postoperative day.
  
  

DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3	DAY 4
• NPO • Out of bed (OOB)	• Clear liquid	• Clear to full liquid	• Modified full liquid diet (1000 calorie daily restriction)