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What Happens in a Gastric Band Consultation?
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by David Keogh, September 27th, 2013
Here at Auralia Weight Loss Clinic we understand that most patients are extremely anxious about coming to their initial gastric band consultation. This is completely understandable, after all, deciding to have gastric band surgery is not an easy decision to make. Many patients come in not knowing what to expect. With this in mind, I have decided to focus this blog around what actually happens during your first gastric band consultation.
Whilst we cannot comment on other clinics policies, the following, as a minimum, should take place.
Firstly, we don’t charge a patient for a consultation. Patients should be entitled to get all of the available information about their procedure without having to pay, therefore, we offer completely free gastric band consultations. Upon arrival to Auralia Weight Loss Clinic you will be required to fill out a brief medical history questionnaire. The majority of questions on it are simply either a YES or a NO answer. If, for any reason, you are unsure of any questions, that’s absolutely fine. We can discuss all questions during the consultation and check up on anything that you’re unsure of. Once you go in to our consultation suite you will be weighed and asked numerous questions such as your eating habits, your past weight loss efforts and why you want to lose weight. We will fully discuss the gastric band with you and explain in full how it works and whether we feel that it is the right decision for you. We will also discuss all the pros and cons of a gastric band in full with you.
We will go through our gastric band program in full, explaining every detail of it to you. You will then be given the opportunity to ask any questions you may have, no matter how big or small they may be! Some patients prefer to bring these questions in a booklet. We advise to do this in order to ensure that you don’t forget any of them. Some patients are unsure of what type of questions they should be asking in a gastric band consultation. With this in mind, the following is a list of sample questions that you should make sure to ask:
• How experienced is my surgeon at gastric band surgery?
• Is my surgery carried out in Ireland?
• What are the advantages of having gastric band surgery in Ireland?
• Is my surgeon registered in Ireland?
• Are all of my adjustments inclusive with the after-care?
• Where does my after-care take place?
• Am I entitled to come in as often as I want?
• Am I entitled to full surgical cover?
• How long does the surgical cover last?
• What gastric band does your company use?
• Is the gastric band that you use FDA approved? (FDA approved gastric bands have the highest safety rating)
• Is there a 24 hour emergency line that I can call?
Following your consultation, we give all of our patients an information pack and advise that they go home and think about things before making any decisions. Should you think of any other questions after your consultation, you are more than welcome to come back into us or simply pick up the phone and ask!
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