Follow-up over long term after a bariatric surgery

The obesity surgery isn’t an intervention which records conclusive results if considered in isolation. The patient benefiting from the follow-up before and after the operation.  For what reasons? Who are the protagonists of this accompaniment postoperative? What does it consist of? Our specialist will answer your questions.

Obesity treatment: Is the follow-up long term absolutely necessary?

The specialists are unanimous: the obesity surgery no matter what kind needs to be supervised by a postoperative follow-up long-term.  The reasons cited are multiple:

• Maintain your efforts. Firstly, the objective of these surgical interventions– gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy and ring -, is to adopt a new a healthier lifestyle.  Over time, bad eating habits can appear after obesity surgery. Regularly take stock with the medical specialist about dietary practices and physical help to maintain your efforts over the long term and avoid a relapse after a bariatric surgery.

• Fulfil deficiencies, the diet even if it is balanced, is less important before the operation. Deficiencies can even appear and especially after several years. The dieticians are for example brought to prescribe to you, over the years, divers dietary complements such as vitamins.

• Diagnosing any complications. The technical complications can appear following a bariatric operation, especially after the placement of an adjustable gastric ring. The follow-up is here essential to diagnostic any and all problems.

A multidisciplinary medical team at the service of long-term patient support

The whole multi-disciplinary team having prepared the surgical procedure of the patient remains at their disposal after the operation. This team consists of a psychologist, a dietician, a nutritionist, an intern and a bariatric surgeon. Everything can be brought to the orientation or reorientation of the patient during a particular clinical situation. The patient will first be followed monthly, then trimestral and finally annually.

The postoperative: Is it identical for a sleeve, bypass or ring surgical patient?

The basic scheme of monitoring remains the same, no matter what the surgical intervention the patient benefits from. Each operation however presents its specificities, in reality the support during the postoperative phase differentiates more in function to the patient’s profile than the type of bariatric intervention in Belgium.

To cite a few examples, a person showing serious signs of an eating disorder or body image to benefit from a follow-up more intensive from a psychologist. A patient who presents pulmonary problems such as sleep apnoea must re-consult an internal doctor. Or even, if a technical problem pops up, it would be a bariatric surgeon or a gastro-endourologist who intervenes and ensures the close follow-up of the patient.  

Do you have questions about obesity surgery or the follow-up it involves?

Contact Doctor Jacques Himpens, Doctor Anne-Catherine Dandrifosse, and the multidisciplinary team in Liège or Brussels. We can be contacted by telephone or via our contact form on-line. Our collaborators will be happy to send you the necessary information as quickly as possible.