After viewing all of the post over the last several weeks one thing I am curious about is the length of stay in a medical facility after the sleeve procedure. So far the only thing I have determined is that it almost varies like crazy. I have seen post from folks that stayed two days in the hospital and I have seen post from folks that do out patient and are home the same day.

I guess it is like the pre/post diets and the lengths of surgery. It all varies.

My doctor told me to expect the following:

1. Pre surgery - he did not think I would need a special diet since my BMI was below 50 (~48) and did not have any other health concerns

2. Surgey - he said it would be out patient at a surgery center (near the hospital) and to expect about a 45 minute procedure

3. Post surgery - he said that for the first few days I would be on a clear liquid diet but that could change as I felt comfortable with it

I guess each doctor has his own thoughts on how things are / should be.

one day stay and pre and post diets I had no real issues.

Outpatient. Checked in to the surgical center around 7:30 am, surgery at 8:30 am, left at 5:30 pm. It was awesome.

I stayed overnight. Surgery was at 7:30 and I was home the next evening. I would have been home earlier in the day, but my ride had to work. I live alone, so I was glad to stay overnight in the hospital. I was on ice chips after surgery, then started Clear liquids the next day. I started purees after 1 week.

I just had my surgery on Tuesday, and here is what I will tell you: I had my surgery at a hospital in Oregon that is a baiatric surgery center of excellence. I chose outpatient, since it was the most cost effective. I was released from the hospital and could not keep my pain medicine or water down. I ended up having to go back to the hospital with pain (since I couldn't keep my meds down) and dehydration (since I couldn't keep water down). 15 unsuccessful iv pokes and one torrdal shot later I felt much better, and was released today. I'm basically bouncing around, but I was the person that needed an inpatient stay, and ended up not having it. On the plus side, when I was re admitted to the hospital my insurance covered everything (surgery was self pay). I would highly recommend inpatient stay, because if you do end up having complications and you are an outpatient, they can only give you the drugs that you will have at home, which sometimes does not work right away. Even if you aren't sure that you need inpatient, it is still good to have that security there, and if you do choose outpatient, know that you can go back to the hospital before you get to the point I was at

You're right, there are many different variations of preop, postop and length of stay. Different doctors, different surgical techniques , different starting BMIs, different comorbidities, different pain tolerances, different anesthesiologists, different drugs given, really too many variables to list. Your personal experience will be different from everyone else's.

As for me, I had a two week preop diet (3 Protein shakes/day plus leafy green veggies). Clear liquids the day before surgery. Fast 12 hours.

Checked into surgical center at 9am, completed bloodwork and cardiac work up, surgery at 3:00. Back in room at 5. Watched TV and wandered the halls all night. Discharged next day at 9am and went shopping. No pain, no nausea. Went back to surgical center for drain removal and 2nd leak test day 3.

Postop diet consisted of 6 weeks of detailed, specific transition through clear fluids, full liquids, purees, and soft food.

Edited June 26, 201511 yr by Kindle

After viewing all of the post over the last several weeks one thing I am curious about is the length of stay in a medical facility after the sleeve procedure. So far the only thing I have determined is that it almost varies like crazy. I have seen post from folks that stayed two days in the hospital and I have seen post from folks that do out patient and are home the same day.

I guess it is like the pre/post diets and the lengths of surgery. It all varies.

My doctor told me to expect the following:

1. Pre surgery - he did not think I would need a special diet since my BMI was below 50 (~48) and did not have any other health concerns

2. Surgey - he said it would be out patient at a surgery center (near the hospital) and to expect about a 45 minute procedure

3. Post surgery - he said that for the first few days I would be on a clear liquid diet but that could change as I felt comfortable with it

I guess each doctor has his own thoughts on how things are / should be.

My doc requires at least 1 night stay in the hospital. The next morning is when he does the leak test.