Pre-Hospital Preparation

After you have been scheduled for surgery, there are a couple of important things to do to prepare for the day. We need to make sure that you are in the best health possible prior to undergoing anaesthesia. In most cases this means a blood test and possibly a chest xray. In some cases we will request a visit to a diabetic specialist (endocrinologist) or a sleep physician.

If we suspect underlying obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) the sleep physician may perform a sleep study. If the sleep study confirms a diagnosis of OSA our usual policy is to get you using a special CPAP mask for several weeks prior to surgery to minimise your anaesthetic risk.

Click here for more information on obstructive sleep apnoea and sleep studies.

We do not routinely undertake gastroscopy or barium swallow prior to gastric band insertion.

Everyone is required to undertake a special low calorie diet prior to operation. This diet, based on OptifastTM replacement meals, is to shrink the liver size and the amount of internal fat to make the surgery safer.

The duration of this diet is usually two weeks, although longer courses may be prescribed for particularly large patients.

If you are medicated for diabetes you should be vigilant about taking sugar readings over this time, as levels may go dangerously low if the same doses are taken.

More details on the OptifastTM based diet can be found in this link.

Call (03) 9895 7215 for more information on weight loss surgery.