Diet before Lap Band Surgery
Recent advances in bariatric surgery have led to the development of laparoscopic banding of the stomach, which has offered hope to many who have not been helped by diets, exercise or pills. Lap band surgery is performed in people with morbid obesity, and succeeds in vastly improving the quality of life, as well as their self-image.
Lap band surgery, though easy to perform, and requiring less hospital stay, needs certain pre surgery preparation to facilitate a smooth surgery and uneventful recovery. Some precautions need to be taken post-operation as well. A regular follow-up to adjust the band size as and when required is an essential post-operative feature, which all patients need to be aware of. Some side effects like an initial liquid diet are also essential.
In pre-operative preparations, maintaining a healthy diet forms the backbone of a successful surgery. Although people approach lap-band surgery as the supreme cure for all obesity related problems, it is important to remember that there is no magic cure to obesity and its related problems. A healthy diet and regular exercise are still required post surgery to maintain the body mass index at an optimal level.
Prior to lap band surgery, a low carbohydrate, high protein diet is generally advised. While carbohydrates are not cut off completely from the diet, low glycemic carbs, rich in fiber are preferred in limited quantities. These include whole grains, beans, legumes and high fiber fruits and vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, loupes, tomatoes, berries and citrus fruits. An adequate intake ensures some weight loss in the period leading up to surgery. High glycemic foods like refined flour, breads and pastas are to be avoided.
In severe obesity, there is abdominal accumulation of fat, which is the most difficult to remove. This fat, which accumulates around the liver and the stomach interferes with the visualization of the stomach and may occasionally bleed during surgery, causing further difficulties. Hence, it is important to shrink as much of it as possible and this is the rationale behind a low carbohydrate diet, so that the body begins to mobilize its fat stores to use as energy. In extreme cases, there is accumulation of fat in the cells of the liver, a condition known as fatty liver, which may again preclude surgery. The low carbohydrate diet ensures that this does not happen.
A high protein diet is ensured, by prescribing a protein supplement drink. The one commonly used is Myocel . This ensures that the body does not go into negative protein balance, and does not mobilize its protein stores to use as energy, so that there is no interference with the healing process post surgery. This is extremely essential to prevent any post-operative infections. In addition, a gradual shift from a solid to a liquid protein diet ensures maximum compliance from the patient, when the reverse is applied post surgery.
Post surgery, the patient cannot be started on solid food right away, until he/she is used to a smaller sized stomach and maybe required to stay on a liquid for some time. This is far easier if the patient has been on a liquid diet for some time before the surgery. This is the rationale behind the pre-op liquid diet.
With certain dietary precautions maintained before you undergo the lap-band procedure , lap- band surgery can indeed prove to be very effective for people that have weight related or obesity issues.
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