Meeting my surgeon!

[Neal04 0]

Hello all. On Wednesday I will spend 4 hours speaking with my surgeon, dietitian and psychologist to make sure I an appropriate candidate for the lap band. Can you help me with questions I should be asking of them? I will be using Dr. Prachand at the University of Chicago Hospitals.

[Astrasmom 1]

Hello all. On Wednesday I will spend 4 hours speaking with my surgeon, dietitian and psychologist to make sure I an appropriate candidate for the LAP-BAND®. Can you help me with questions I should be asking of them? I will be using Dr. Prachand at the University of Chicago Hospitals.

You need to find out the advantages of not only the Lap Band surgery but the other WL surgeries also before you make up your mind that the Lapband is the appropriate surgery for you. The reason that I chose the Lapband was because I felt that it was safer for me. You also want to be aware of the complications with Lapband. They do happen but not as frequent as you might hear. You also want to determine how long you will be out of work if you do work.

As for the dietitian, it sometimes helps if you make a log of everything that you eat during the course of the day, then you have something to show the dietitian when you see them. You will want them to explain to you what the different stages of eating are for the Lapband and how much you can eat during each stage. If you are diabetic you might want to mention that to the dietitian so you can better understand your diet needs.

As for the psychologist, they will ask you the questions. This is to make sure that you are emotionally strong enough to do this surgery. He/she will ask you WHY you want this surgery, how your current life situation is, and how your life was growing up. It's pretty basic.

Good luck. I hope this information helps you.

[jensmallwood 0]

Ask about Lap Band complications-- and then ask your surgeon what his/her complication rate is- what kinds he's personally seen at his practice and how many.

Ask about pre-op and post-op diets- what will they be like, and for how long at the different stages-- including when you are back to eating normal foods. Some people on here are restricted to the point of only eating 4oz of food at a time (when they reach restriction.) That's not my doctor's plan at all (thank goodness, IMO) but you need to know upfront.

Ask if they have a support group, when does it meet and how active is it (do people participate)?

Ask about the average success rate of the Lap Band, and find out what the success rate (percentage of excess weight lost) your surgeon has seen at his/her practice.

Ask who does the fills in the office- the surgeon? A nurse?

Find out what sorts of preoperative tests you will need- they vary by surgeon and by insurance and by patient.

Ask him how long he/she's been doing lapband surgery-- does he/she do them routinely or just once in a while? Does he do other weight loss surgeries- contrast and compare pros/cons.

Ok- I'm out for now! Good luck!