Post Operative Care
Teaming Up with Dr. Ellner
The Toolkit | Print Toolkit |
After surgery, it is critical that you follow all of the guidelines in the Toolkit, in order to minimize your risk of complications and to use your tool as successfully as possible. I have written the Toolkit in an effort to make the program as easy to understand as possible. Please ensure that you read and understand all of the details in the Toolkit, and adhere to all of the requirements. Most patients feel that they need to read the Toolkit five to seven times before they are comfortable with all of the details of the program. The details are also presented in your lecture after surgery. If you don't understand any part of the instructions, please ask me in your follow-up appointment!
Exercise | Print Exercise Log |
As part of your program, and in order to make the best use of your surgery, the right kind of exercise is essential. I will discuss any concerns that you may have in your initial consultation. Most of my patients have specific joint problems and sometimes this requires the assistance of a physical therapist to set up an exercise plan that is safe and reasonable for you. We will work through this together before your surgery, as it's important that you be able to meet the exercise level that is necessary to get the weight loss started and keep it coming off, while you're using your newly tightened pouch to help you with eating habits.
I will calculate your individual goal heart rate, and share it with you during your pre-operative consultation. It is important that you always monitor your heart rate, with a heart rate monitor, and ensure that your heart rate is at goal while doing the cardio portion of your exercise. You will find that your heart rate goes down with the same type of exercise as the weeks go by, which is an indication that you are getting into better shape! This boosts your metabolism and helps keep the weight coming off. Monitoring and reporting this during your follow-up visits with me is a critical part of maintaining the appropriate level of exericise for your fitness level as you progress. This ensures that you continue to reap the benefits of the time that you are taking out of your daily schedule to exercise. No one wants to be working hard in the gym and not see the benefit! Filling out the exercise schedule every week and faxing it to me before your monthly appointment allows the two of us to work as a team and customize your program as time goes by.
Follow-Up Appointments | Print Follow-up Form |
One of the things that all of my Incisionless Revision patients have in common is that they didn't stay in/receive long-term follow-up after their gastric bypass. Don't allow the same mistake to happen again. Follow-up is the key to long term success. It is your job to always ensure that your appointments are made on a monthly basis, until you are comfortably at your goal weight and any vitamin deficiencies that you may have had before your surgery are rectified. Thereafter, we will decide what your specific support needs are, but you are expected to have a follow-up visit, complete with gastric bypass lab testing, at a minimum of once per year.
It seems that time is at a premium for all of us! In an effort to make the most use of your time with Dr. Ellner, please print the Revision Follow-Up Form, fill it out in its entirety, and fax it to Dr. Ellner’s office (619-286-7867) 24 hours before your telephone follow-up appointment, or bring it with you to your in-office appointment. Doing so will avoid you spending precious time filling out the form in the office when you could be visiting with Dr. Ellner. This is especially convenient for patients who are out of town. It avoids spending time having Dr. Ellner ask you the questions over the phone, which is time better spent addressing your issues!
Having the form all filled out, in Dr. Ellner’s hands at the start of your appointment will allow her to focus on what you need to talk about, spending your whole appointment time on your personal needs.
I am here to help you and the path to success lies in the two of us acting as a team!
Julie Ellner, M.D.
