Day of Bariatric Surgery
Day of Bariatric Surgery – 2/27/2026
This week, Kemal Erkan and Dr. Isaias Irgau sit down to talk about what to expect for the day of bariatric surgery. Proper preparation and expectations can help this big day go as smoothly as possible. To best prepare for anesthesia, the patient should not eat or drink anything after midnight the night before surgery. This is because when the patient is under, food contents may come through their windpipe and cause aspiration (which can be very dangerous.) Patients may still be instructed to take medications for conditions such as blood pressure or anxiety with a sip of water. Other instructions include removing nail polish, piercings, and getting adequate rest the night before.
American Surgery Center adheres to very strict safety protocols in order to ensure successful patient outcomes. Many aspects are taken into consideration, such as the equipment and operating table, the anesthesia, anesthesia providers, monitoring equipment, and laparoscopic instruments. With the surgery center’s approach, ASC is also able to discharge patients same day and have patients heal comfortably at home. Considerations for same-day discharge include mobility, presence of heart disease or advanced kidney disease, and BMI. Of course, in cases that require increased monitoring and assistance, procedures can be done at the hospital.
Anesthesia for bariatric surgery is general anesthesia, which involves the person being completely asleep. Breathing is monitored by an anesthesiologist, and the procedures themselves last around an hour to an hour and a half. During the bariatric consult, the patient’s airway is also assessed to see how difficult it will be for the anesthesiologist to work with it. Right after surgery, the main complications that the surgeon will be watching for are breathing or bleeding issues. American Surgery Center works with strict protocols to alert doctors and nurses right away if any numbers look awry. The care team prioritizes preventing such complications, but is also ready to jump in right away should something occur.
While complications are rare, they can happen. One of the more serious complications that the surgery team will look out for is malignant hypertension. This can occur very rarely as a result of anesthesia, and there is a precise protocol in place to address such an emergency. In situations of bleeding or other significant issues, there are also transfer agreements in place with hospitals to make sure the patient can be admitted right away.
Once the stomach has been operated on, it will take time for it to start functioning at a normal level again. For the first two weeks after surgery, patients are asked to be on a liquid diet. This is to prevent too much pressure being put on the fresh wound of the stomach. Also, not only is the stomach small, but it is fairly stiff as well. When patients drink fluid, pressure can increase in the stomach and cause discomfort in the food pipe. Thus, patients need to be very mindful about taking small sips of liquid throughout the day, even when it comes to water.
There is a lot that goes into preparing for the day of bariatric surgery. Dr. Irgau says that the best piece of advice he can give is to trust your team and the preparations you have done. While it may seem like the end of the process, “it is actually the beginning of a new life,” he says. Bariatric surgery can be a great step in the right direction to take charge of your life and health long-term.