what to expect on the day of bariatric surgery
Day of Surgery
Shower the morning of surgery with no lotion, makeup, nail polish, or jewelry. Bring only what you need — your bariatric guide, basic toiletries, glasses or hearing aid cases, and comfortable clothes to wear home, but no more than $20 cash. At the hospital you'll register, change into a gown, get your vitals checked, and have an IV placed before heading to the OR. Surgery itself typically takes 30 minutes to an hour.
Getting Prepared
Shower the morning of your surgery, but skip lotions, moisturizers, creams, makeup, and nail polish. Leave jewelry at home. Dentures are fine to wear in, but you'll need to remove them just before surgery.
What to Bring to the Hospital
Bring only what you need. Leave jewelry at home, and don't bring more than $20 cash. A small comfort item, like a photo, is fine if it helps you relax.
Helpful things to pack: your binder and bariatric guide, a small toiletries bag (toothbrush, shampoo, toothpaste, lotion, soap), your glasses and case, storage cases for contacts, hearing aids, or dentures, a clean bathrobe, lip balm, your address book for calling loved ones, and loose, comfortable clothing that's easy to put on and take off for the ride home.
Hospital Pre-Admitting
You'll follow the hospital's registration and pre-admission testing process, with specific instructions from our office ahead of time. Once you're checked in, you'll change into a hospital gown and slippers. Corrective lenses, dentures, and hearing aids come out for safety, so bring a case for each.
Hospital staff will have you sign a consent form, even if you've already signed one in our office. Signing confirms that the surgery has been explained to you, that you understand what it involves, and that you don't have remaining questions. Staff will check your pulse, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, height, respiratory rate, temperature, and weight, and place an IV line so the surgical team can give medications and fluids directly. You may be given a medication to help you relax before heading in.
Anesthesia
General anesthesia puts you to sleep quickly, and your anesthesiologist stays with you for the entire operation. If you're nervous about anesthesia, your anesthesiologist can give you an anti-anxiety medication beforehand.
The monitoring system in the OR catches any change immediately — in blood oxygen, exhaled carbon dioxide, blood pressure, or heart rate — so your anesthesiologist can respond right away. Before surgery, your anesthesiologist will talk through the specific risks with you directly.
The Operating Room
The OR is an unfamiliar place for most people, and the team understands the nerves that come with it. You'll be cared for by a board-certified anesthesiologist, a physician assistant, one or two surgical assistants, a certified registered nurse anesthetist, and supporting nurses — all using current techniques and equipment.
You'll walk in or be brought on a gurney, and the nurses will review your chart before getting started. Once you're settled on the table and connected to monitors, you'll breathe oxygen for a few minutes before a sedative is given through your IV. Once you're asleep, the anesthesiologist places a breathing tube to keep your airway clear, then administers the medications and anesthetic gas that keep you asleep and pain-free throughout. Your anesthesiologist connects you to monitoring devices and stays with you the entire time.
Surgery time varies, typically 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the procedure, whether anything additional is needed, and how much room there is to work within. Once your surgery is finished, your dressings are placed and you're moved to a recovery room.