What do I do if I think I may be a candidate for bariatric surgery?
The process begins with you being referred to the tier 3 weight management service by your GP. After a period of assessment and support in the tier 3 service you will be referred to meet the hospital based team if it is felt you would be a good candidate for surgery. You will then meet the specialist nurse for a one-to-one session and also a member of the surgical team.
At this point, we will discuss surgery in detail and place you on the waiting list for surgery. Close to the time of your surgery, you will attend a pre-assessment clinic where your fitness for surgery will be assessed by a member of the Anaesthetic Team. For 2-3 weeks before your operation, you will be placed on a special diet to reduce the size of your liver.
During your time in the tier 3 service, you will be set an individual weight loss goal that you will need to meet before being referred to the surgical team. You will need to maintain this weight loss up until the time of surgery. This is an important part of your weight loss journey as making healthy lifestyle choices such as dietary changes and exercise will set you up to do well in the long term after surgery. No weight loss operation will give good long term weight loss results if you do not adopt the changes covered during your time in the tier 3 weight management service.