Arrival at the hospital

When you arrive at the hospital, you will be taken to your room and a venous catheter will be placed (a needle for passing fluids through a vein in your body, usually placed in the hand, arm or forearm). This process is very painless and is similar to what you experienced when your laboratory samples were taken. In some cases, it is difficult to place the catheter on the first try, but be patient and you will soon have it in place.

Go to the operating room

Your family or companions will stay in your room or in the waiting room while you are taken to the operating room. There is no exact time for you to go down to the operating room, this varies depending on the time spent with each patient. You will be a little nervous and hungry before going to the operating room, this is completely normal and very common. When you go to the operating room, you will be in the recovery area for a few minutes, during which time the anesthesiologist will ask you a few questions, and we will monitor your vital signs. Afterwards, you will go to the room where your surgery will be performed. Once in the operating room, the anesthesiologist will give you medication through the intravenous catheter that was already placed. At that time, you will go into a deep sleep and will not wake up until the surgery is over.

While you are asleep, the anesthesiologist will place a tube in your mouth to administer oxygen, and the surgical team will take care of you and position you so that the surgery can begin. The surgery usually lasts 1 hour and a half for bypass surgery and 35 minutes for gastric sleeve surgery. However, from the time you go down to the operating room until we notify your family to give them information, it can take 2 or 3 hours (this is due to the time in the recovery area). Keep in mind that at all times you will be well cared for by the surgical team, anesthesiologist, and nursing staff trained for the procedure.

When I woke up

After the surgery, you will go back to the recovery room, but not to your room yet. At this time, Dr. Rey Romero or Dr. Miguel Antonio Osorio will talk to your family to tell them that everything in the surgery was a success and that you will still be in the recovery room for 1 to 3 more hours to monitor you. In the recovery room, the nursing and medical team will be watching and caring for you. It is common to have some pain and nausea when you wake up, since you will have already been given medication for these symptoms, but in some cases these symptoms will manifest themselves. You will feel a little dizzy and disoriented due to the effects of the anesthesia. You will be in the recovery room for 1 to 3 hours.

In my room, coming out of surgery

After leaving the recovery room, you will return to your room with your family or friends, who will be waiting for you. You may experience discomfort from pain, nausea and vomiting. (Please see the videos below.) When you get to your room, you can wait 1 hour and move around out of bed, 10-15 steps during this day is more than enough. Too many steps increases the risk of bleeding, not moving around increases the risk of blood clots. Therefore, you should move around out of bed, but not too much. You will be given ice cubes so you can slowly drink some liquid.

The next day, discharge

On this day you will feel much better, there will be almost no pain and the nausea will be almost gone. This day will start with small spoonfuls of clear liquids that will be given to you in the hospital, you will be able to get out of bed and do simple activities like watching TV, reading a book, using your computer. This day is for hospital recovery. In most cases we will be discharging you in the afternoon, after 4-5 pm, in some cases we may keep patients an extra day for further recovery. (Please see the videos below). You will be given a prescription and will be given nutritional, medical and next appointment instructions.