After the operation

Two or three years of medical and surgical monitoringare essential for your safety and slimming process. Monitoring will be carried out on a regular basis initially, and then progressively at much longer intervals.

• The surgeon will monitor the position of the ring, and tighten or loosen it depending on your weight loss.
• Your doctor or the nutritionist will monitor your eating habits.
• We also feel that psychotherapy or psychoanalysis may be of valuable assistance.

Weight loss is progressive, and this will begin in the first few weeks – between 2 and 5 kilos per month, on average.

The ring is tightened when your weight has not altered in one month, if you have not committed any errors in your eating habits.

In the case of pregnant women, the ring is loosened to allow them to eat more during their pregnancy, and is then tightened after the lactation period.

Equilibrium weight is achieved over 2 or 3 years. By then you will have lost, on average, between 50 and 70% of your excess body weight. Some patients even lose 100% of the excess.

How much weight you lose depends on your age, your sex, and your weight when the operation is performed. It also depends on your eating habits and physical exercise.

Some kind of sport is essential. Initially this will mean walking or swimming. As you lose weight, you can take on much more sporting activity. This will help you slim down faster, and continue to lower your equilibrium weight.

Although the operation is reversible, the ring must remain in your body for life: the risk of putting on weight again cannot be ignored, in the absence of any regulatory system. Plastic skin reduction surgery may prove necessary if too much weight is lost.

Your decision to use gastroplasty to solve your obesity problem should not be taken lightly. A successful operation involves considerable physical and psychological effort, and so a decision should be taken only after discussing the matter at length with your family.

If you are not psychologically prepared to take up the challenge of gastroplasty, do not waste your time with this operation .