You will be given instructions both in your consultation as well as prior to surgery to get you completely set up to have the most successful and easy experience possible. Our team will help you through the process and answer any questions that you may have. Most of the time, I will want to have a medical clearance from your doctor, especially if you have had bariatric surgery in the past in order to lose weight. Occasionally, nutritional deficiencies occur because your body is not absorbing enough vitamins and minerals in addition to calories. You will actually usually be taking a multivitamin to minimize this risk so it is relatively uncommon. Your medical clearance will help me determine your ability to tolerate surgery.
I will also recommend a high-protein diet in the month before surgery in order to optimize your healing. Healing tissue requires protein to close the incision and you will want to be in a protein surplus to really help your healing. I recommend ingesting at least 0.5 g of protein per pound body weight per day for one month prior to surgery. I highly recommend beginning an exercise program or at least doing 10 to 20 minutes of walking three times a week prior to surgery. Anything more is all the better. Exercise will help your physiology and body tolerate surgery better and will make your recovery much easier and reduce the complications.
I do put my body contouring patients on a blood thinner to reduce the risk of deep vein thrombosis/clots. While extremely rare, they are found more commonly in patients who have a high body mass index and require body contouring surgery. Therefore in order to maximize your safety this blood thinner is administered for one week after surgery in almost all circumstances.