Differences in Plans

[sill21 69]

Does anyone else think it's really weird how the WLS industry and doctors don't have an agreed upon recovery plans for patients? I've read on here that some people can eat soft foods one week out and others are on liquids for three weeks post op. I know medical care is like this for a variety of different surgeries but it seems weird that the plans vary so much.

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[CindyZee 2]

I changed surgeons and therefore had a different pre and post op diet. Same surgery, same BMI, different diet. Go figure...hmmm.

[highfunctioningfatman 2,675]

It all comes down to the doctor and what they are comfortable with. They may feel that a long time of liquids after surgery is safer or they may just be a crappy surgeon that has had problems with leaks in the short run and they attribute that to what the patient ate. Who knows? Does that mean that a surgeon who is fine with soft foods a week out is better? Who knows?

[sill21 69]

It all comes down to the doctor and what they are comfortable with. They may feel that a long time of liquids after surgery is safer or they may just be a crappy surgeon that has had problems with leaks in the short run and they attribute that to what the patient ate. Who knows? Does that mean that a surgeon who is fine with soft foods a week out is better? Who knows?

Yeah I'm just questioning it because the different is so vast. To me it's like one doctor telling someone to walk right away after knee surgery vs. the doctor telling them to lay in bed for three weeks. The recovery methods are completely different.

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[Middus 491]

Yeah I'm just questioning it because the different is so vast. To me it's like one doctor telling someone to walk right away after knee surgery vs. the doctor telling them to lay in bed for three weeks. The recovery methods are completely different.

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It's probably because the surgeries are 'personal'. Most of what we consider to be 'the standard', is usually based on 'average' or 'normal' experiences. Some practices base their guidelines/rules on the kinds of patients they see (and medical records review/research). Another system may have narrower margins based on their own records.

Edited January 2, 2017 by Middus

[jess9395 5,449]

It's because there aren't a lot of scientific studies about what plan works best so each doctor is making their own educated guess based on the small amount of actual research and their own experience and that of their colleagues.

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[j16 166]

I think it's unfortunate that bariatric dietitians and surgeons have not been able to come up with standards for post surgery diets. Maybe they have but I'm not aware of them?Obviously there would be exceptions but it does seem like there should be more agreement in Protein, carb and fat grams as well as portion size and calorie max/min.

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[360lyMe 40]

I wonder if a lot of it is more about marketing...

Some of the dietitians are saying, "Our program is better because you only have to do a pre-op diet for a week" or "You can take xyz instead of the abc that our competitors recommend and it's less expensive, but practically does the same thing" for less money".

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[jess9395 5,449]

I wonder if a lot of it is more about marketing...

Some of the dietitians are saying, "Our program is better because you only have to do a pre-op diet for a week" or "You can take xyz instead of the abc that our competitors recommend and it's less expensive, but practically does the same thing" for less money".

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I'm sure that's the case with some... that's why you need to research and find a surgeon you trust.

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