Execution
Prior to the surgery
Your body weight and length will be measured. In addition, an abdominal ultrasound and a bone density scan (DXA-scan) will be executed. You will be asked to fill out several questionnaires and one blood test will be performed.
During the last two weeks prior to the surgery, you will have to follow a strict liquid diet. This is necessary to reduce the amount of fat surrounding your liver, which will lower the risk of complications during the surgery.
The surgery
Hospital admission will be on the day of the surgery. You will receive certain medication that will put you into a deep sleep, to assure that you do not feel pain during the surgery (general anesthesia). Hospital admission will be about three days/two nights.
After the surgery
After the surgery, many adjustments will be asked of you, especially regarding your eating behavior and your exercise program. Examples of adjustments you have to make are as follows; eating three main courses and three to six ‘snack’ courses a day, no more drinking of sodas and not eating and drinking simultaneously. These adjustments will be instructed prior to the surgery and after the surgery a dietician will guide you to comply with these adjustments.
For the follow-up, you will visit the bariatric surgeon, the pediatrician and/or a nurse, according to the schedule shown below. During all these visits, your body weight and length will be measured and a blood test is performed to check the function of your organs and to see if the levels of vitamins and minerals are sufficient. In addition, each year the abdominal ultrasound will be executed and at two and five years after the surgery the bone mineral density scan will be repeatedly executed. Furthermore, you will be asked to fill out several questionnaires at different time points during follow-up.
Besides these follow-up moments, you will also visit the dietician and the psychologist after the surgery. This follow-up schedule is still under construction. The visits will be most frequent in de first year after the surgery.
Tabel 1 – Controle bezoeken met metingen en testen
| Follow-up | Body weight / length | Blood test | DXA scan | Questionnaires | Ultrasound | Physician |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prior to the surgery | ||||||
| Baseline | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | Pediatrician and surgeon |
| After the surgery | ||||||
| 2 months | √ | Surgeon | ||||
| 6 months | √ | √ | Pediatrician | |||
| 1 year | √ | √ | √ | √ | Surgeon | |
| 1.5 year | √ | Pediatrician | ||||
| 2 year | √ | √ | √ | √ | Pediatrician | |
| 3 year | √ | √ | √ | √ | Pediatrician | |
| 4 year | √ | √ | √ | Pediatrician or surgeon | ||
| 5 year | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | Pediatrician or surgeon |
Medication
After the surgery, you have to inject a medicine into the skin of your stomach or upper leg, once daily for the period of 1 month. This reduces the thickness of your blood, impairing the risk of thrombosis.
In addition, you have to take a multivitamin and a calcium tablet daily for the rest of your life.
