An Outline of Your Journey

Orientation and preparation:
最初，你会被告知会发生什么 and how to prepare for your new life. To this effect, you will be meeting with several professionals in addition to your primary care physician (PCP) and surgeon. This team is likely to include a dietician and psychologist/psychiatrist and consultants as needed based on your medical problems. The Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Team members will guide you along and coordinate with your insurance provider. Based on these assessments and your medical conditions, tests and procedures will be ordered to prepare you for safe surgery.

Surgery:
When you are ready for surgery, the team and your surgeon will help you choose the most appropriate procedure for your situation. The aim is to 选择最适合你的手术 medical and sociological needs and aspirations. There is no “one size fits all” approach here. Most procedures will require you to spend one or two nights in hospital. You will need to take some time off from work to recover from surgery and get acquainted with your new life. 在此期间，我们的团队将帮助指导您的饮食 and lifestyle changes.

Short term follow-up:
短期内，你的外科医生会给你看病 and dietician within two weeks of your surgery. Then again at six weeks and three months postoperatively. During these encounters, you will be guided as to the necessary changes in your diet and supplementation, your 生活方式的改变和必要的改变 medications due to the improvement of your health. 通常，你还会被鼓励跟进 你的PCP和任何跟踪你病情的专家. 在3个月时，我们的团队将与您的PCP协调任何测试或 changes in medications that you need.

Long term follow-up:
We want to see our patients for as long as they are willing to follow up with us! You will have 和你的外科医生约好了六点和十二点的时间 months postoperative points and yearly thereafter. 在这些访问期间，我们将确保您仍然 on track and coordinate with your PCP any tests or changes in medications that you may need. Although most patients do not need the routine help of the 此时，营养师提供全面的服务方案 are always at your disposal.

Support Groups:
Regular support groups will be coordinated by the team. These groups are aimed at pre and postoperative patients to provide support and education throughout your journey. They bring together people with shared experiences who tend to be the best source of advice and guidance for different issues you may encounter in your new life. You can choose to make these sessions an integral 是你生活的一部分，还是偶尔来征求意见.

In summary:
You are embarking on a life-changing journey for the better. Our program will provide you with a multidisciplinary team of professionals who will 确保你被安全引导，并将协调 with your other healthcare providers to help you achieve the best outcomes. Congratulations on taking this first step towards a healthier life!

Expected Timeline

Educational/Informational Session
You will be registered to attend at least one informational session about bariatric surgery, organized by the team (to make sure that you have a full understanding of the procedures and the processes). This will not always have to be done before your initial consultation.

Initial Consultation
在您的初次咨询中，您将与您的 surgeon and the program dietician. Your surgeon 会尽量充分了解你的需要和医疗 conditions. At this meeting, your surgeon will let 你知道如果你是这个项目的候选人 what needs to be done to get you fully prepared for the surgery and thereafter. This will likely include lab tests, an endoscopy of your stomach, possible 癌症筛查，咨询其他专家，如果 需要心理评估和术前检查 that may be required for safe anesthesia. The dietician 将概述健康的饮食习惯，并确保你 have an understanding of the dietary requirements before and after surgery. Depending on your medical condition and your weight, your surgeon and dietician may ask you to lose weight preoperatively and may also set you up with a physical therapist.

Follow-up Visit
这通常发生在最初的4-6周后 consultation. At this visit, your surgeon will go over your preoperative workup and consultations, ensure 你对手术有充分的了解 type of surgery suitable to you and your adherence to the preoperative plan. Some individuals may also need to follow up with the dietician based on what was decided on the initial visit. If your surgeon, dietician, psychologist and medical consultants have cleared 如果你想做手术，你和你的外科医生会同意 surgical procedure and date.

Preoperative Visit
This is typically a few days before surgery. You will meet with your surgeon and the program dietician. Your surgeon will ensure that no contraindications have arisen since your last visit, examine you and answer any questions you may have about surgery. The dietician will make sure that you have a full understanding of the meal plan for the first two weeks after surgery. You will also be seen by the 麻醉小组来做术前检查 given all the necessary instructions for the day of surgery.

Surgery
手术当天，你要在预定的时间来就诊. 手术将会进行，术后你可能会在医院呆24-48小时. During your hospitalization, your surgeon and the nursing team will check on you regularly to 确保你的进展如预期的那样，没有并发症. 在你住院期间，项目营养师也会拜访你，以确保 you have a good understanding of your meal plan for the first two weeks at home.

Post-Operative Visit
Typically, this visit is 10-14 days after surgery. The aim is to check on how the healing process is going. X-rays may be obtained for Sleeve Gastrectomy patients. 通常情况下，维生素补充剂也 started. You will also meet with the dietitian during this appointment to go over the diet plan.

Six-Week Visit
This visit is mostly about making sure that the you 是否很好地适应了饮食计划，体重减轻了 is appropriate and that you have started exercising. You will also meet with the dietitian during this appointment to go over the diet plan.

Three-Month Visit
At this point, most patients have adjusted well to their diets and can eat very comfortably. The aim of 这次拜访是为了确保你的减肥顺利进行 are exercising properly, medications are adjusted based on improvement in medical problems, that are already noticeable by this time, and that necessary lifestyle modifications are underway. At this point, acid reducing medications are typically stopped and blood tests are ordered to look at certain vitamin levels and metabolic conditions. You will also meet 在这个预约期间和营养师一起去复查 the diet plan.

Six Month Visit
到这个时候，大多数病人都能吃任何东西了 they want to eat in controlled portions. Weight loss 是优秀的，开始趋于平稳，并且意义重大吗 improvements are noticeable in terms of overall health. The focus of this visit is to check a wide panel of laboratory tests to make sure there are no 维生素或矿物质的缺乏 or adjust the supplementation regimen. You will 如果你愿意，可以选择与营养师见面吗 during this visit.

One-Year Visit
The focus during these visits is to ensure that you have adjusted well to your new lifestyle, that you continue to maintain your weight loss and 你没有任何需要的缺陷 addressed. A full panel of laboratory tests will again be ordered during this visit. You will have the option 如果您愿意，可以在访问期间与营养师会面. The above is the fixed/ scheduled follow up plan. Of 当然，我们鼓励你更密切地跟进 如果你觉得有必要或者有紧迫的问题 need to be addressed.