Pre-surgical Weight Loss Boosts Post-surgical Success

If you are considering weight loss surgery, you can boost your post-surgical success with a pre-surgical weight loss program.

For many people seeking weight loss surgery, trying to lose weight through dieting before surgery seems counterintuitive. After all, aren't they seeking bariatric surgery because diets have not worked for them in the past?

Losing even a small amount of weight before undergoing any type of weight loss surgery can reduce the risks you face during the operation, reduce healing time, and improve your long-term weight loss success. These benefits are especially important for people preparing for laparoscopic weight loss procedures since the surgeon must operate in a much more confined body space than is possible with a traditional open procedure.

Reduced risk and faster healing

Australian researchers have shown that patients who followed the OPTIFAST^®full meal replacement diet for just two weeks before bariatric surgery reduced the size and fragility of their livers and improved their blood glucose levels. The changes in liver size and fragility made it easier for the surgeon to see the gastro-intestinal area during the operation and reduced the risk of the patient's liver tearing and bleeding. The combined benefits of better visibility and less liver damage led to fewer complications during and after surgery. Patients in the OPTIFAST weight loss group also healed more quickly in part due to better blood sugar control.

Preparation for post-surgical lifestyle changes

American researchers have found that patients who successfully followed the OPTIFAST full meal replacement program for 6-8 weeks before Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery experienced the same benefits reported by the Australian researchers at 2 weeks. They also had lower blood pressure, less intra-abdominal fat, and were better prepared to make the dietary and other lifestyle changes necessary to be successful after the operation. These researchers noted that people who had a tough time sticking with the OPTIFAST diet were referred for further counseling to help them successfully identify and address their specific food-related challenges before undergoing surgery.

Better post-surgical weight loss

A third study, published in the Archives of Surgery in 2007, found that pre-surgical weight loss was especially helpful for people who, in addition to being severely overweight, had serious weight-related medical conditions. Patients who lost 5% or more of their body weight before surgery spent less time in the hospital after surgery than patients who had not lost weight beforehand. Patients who lost 10% or more of their body weight before undergoing weight loss surgery were more than twice as likely to lose 70% of their body weight by one year after surgery when compared to patients who lost between 0% and 5% of their body weight ahead of time. These benefits were true for patients who had undergone open weight loss surgeries as well as for those who had a laparoscopic weight loss procedure such as a LAP-BAND.

Surgeons associated with the Cleveland Clinic Bariatric Program point out that the surgical instruments used in laparoscopic surgeries of any type, including weight loss procedures, are too short to be useful if a patient weighs 500 pounds or more. Therefore, anyone in this weight category must lose weight through use of a high-protein diet (like OPTIFAST) or must have their mouth wired shut for a few months before undergoing a laparoscopic procedure.

Equip yourself for long-term success

Patients considering joint replacement surgeries, cardiac surgery, and other elective (non-emergency) procedures can also benefit from preoperative weight loss. The high protein content of OPTIFAST meal replacement formulas make these products particularly beneficial dietary interventions because the protein helps to preserve lean body mass during weight loss, promotes healing after surgery, and improves a patient's immunity for nearly all such procedures. In addition, the educational tools designed to accompany the OPTIFAST Meal Replacement Diet program address the challenges people face during weight loss and maintenance, reducing the chances of weight regain.

Patients who become accustomed to using OPTIFAST formula before surgery often continue to use it afterwards as a valuable source of protein, vitamins, and other vital nutrients. A higher protein formula specially formulated for weight loss surgery patients, known as RESOURCE OPTISOURCE^®, is also available.