Within the first year after bariatric surgery at Penn Medicine, we’ll schedule follow-up visits with you and your nurse practitioner, surgeon and dietitian at two weeks, six weeks, three months and six months. After your first year, annual visits are required to help reach weight loss goals and maintain that weight loss lifelong.
You may think your annual doctor’s appointment is enough, but we recommend you communicate and meet with your bariatric care team regularly. Why? Studies show that bariatric surgery patients who continue to follow up with their clinical team have greater weight loss than those who do not stay in contact with the team at follow up office visits after surgery.
A bariatric surgeon will probably say your surgery is successful if you’ve achieved 40 to 50 percent excess weight loss (EWL). We conducted a study at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in 2003 that showed those who continued to follow up after surgery had greater weight loss outcomes of about 60 percent EWL at 12 months after surgery and 67 percent EWL at 24 months after surgery.
What does that mean? Greater weight loss is strongly related to increased attendance at clinical office visits after surgery.
Because we know that staying in contact with your bariatric team is such a motivational factor in achieving weight-loss goals, we try to provide patients with more tools and support. It’s easy to stay connected through the myPennMedicine portal.
We encourage you to call the nutrition and nursing telephone line that was provided to you whenever you have a question.
Additionally, there are monthly support groups available at most of our locations: Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, Pennsylvania Hospital, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and Penn Medicine Valley Forge.
Support groups are great because they give you convenient access to the team and are a safe space for asking questions and getting guidance. Plus, you get the added support of other people who are going through or have gone through similar experiences.
Each person’s journey with weight loss surgery is unique, so the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program is designed to individualize care to each of you. We hope you’ll take advantage of it.