Surgery complete, gastric bypass patient heads home
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By JENNETTE BARNES
Standard-Times Staff Writer
April 1, 2006 (reprinted with permission)
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Registered nurse Michelle Croft says goodbye to Tiffany Machado, left, as she is discharged from Tobey Hospital in Wareham after succesfully undergoing gastric bypass surgery.
Photo by Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times | |
The Standard-Times has been following her experience as she tries to drop about 100 pounds.
The 21-year-old said she was "not at all" hungry, even though she had not eaten solid food in 48 hours.
While she waited to be discharged, she watched the Food Network on television. Normally, watching a food show would make her want to cook, she said, but not now.
For nutrition and hydration, Ms. Machado ate sugar-free pudding and drank liquids, a few ounces at a time. She was doing well enough that her doctor pushed her food schedule slightly ahead of the guidelines provided by the program's nutritionist.
She had to remember to pace herself.
"You just have the natural reaction to pick something up and gulp it," she said.
She experienced some pain when the drain tube was removed from her abdomen, but otherwise she felt quite well, she said.
She took regular walks around the hospital floor.
"I don't feel like I'm handicapped," she said. "I feel like I can do anything at this point."
Ms. Machado's sister, Sheena Machado, and childhood friend Megan Galego of New Bedford picked her up at the hospital.
Nurses escort most patients out in a wheelchair, but Ms. Machado was allowed to walk.
She plans to stay home from work for the next three weeks and follow a strict regimen of daily medication that includes two chewable vitamins, six chewable calcium tablets and an over-the-counter antacid.
She will take liquid pain medication while the six small incisions heal.
For at least a week, her meals will consist mainly of sugar-free pudding and low-fat breakfast shakes. She can eat diet Jell-O and drink sugar-free liquids, such as tea and broth.
After the first week, she will see her surgeon for follow-up. Sometime after that, she can begin to eat pureed solid foods.
Gastric bypass can be risky. According to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, the death rate within a month is between 0.2 and 0.5 percent in "expert" centers, but can be much higher if the surgeons and hospitals are inexperienced.
Proponents point out that the risks of obesity are serious as well.
Ms. Machado's surgeon, Dr. Rayford Kruger, has performed gastric bypass on about 150 patients since Tobey launched the program 15 months ago, with no deaths.
The main risk of complications is the chance that bacteria-rich digestive contents could leak into the abdominal cavity, causing infection.
Contact Jennette Barnes at jbarnes@s-t.com
Date of Publication: April 1, 2006 on Page A08
Copyright © The Standard-Times 2006. Reprinted with permission.
More Information ~ FREE Seminars
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- First Wednesday of each month
7 p.m.
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1225 Iyanough Road & Bearse's Way, Hyannis - Second Tuesday of each month
6:30 p.m.
Medical Library on the first floor
Tobey Hospital
43 High Street, Wareham - Second Wednesday of each month (beginning May 13, 2009)
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Colonial Room, 66 State Road, Westport - Third Tuesday of every month
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300 Faunce Corner Road, North Dartmouth - Fourth Tuesday of each month
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Important Note to Patients
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Like any major surgery, major abdominal surgeries such as procedures to treat morbid obesity bring a significant risk of complications. It is important to remember that those afflicted with morbid obesity may have additional elevated serious risks, or co-morbidities, including diabetes, hypertension and severe pulmonary issues, which can cause further complications during this or any surgical procedure. This surgery is only performed after patients participate in a lengthy screening and orientation process that involves their families and all of their existing health care providers, including their primary care physician. Patients are also required to undergo medical counseling and engage in health and lifestyle practices that are designed to reduce co-morbidities to whatever extent possible.
You should always contact your Primary Care Physician to discuss any questions or concerns related to your medical history and options for choice, particularly if you are planning to undergo any surgery or partake in a new medical regimen.
