Perioperative management of bariatric surgery patients

Up to now, bariatric surgery has been the prime solution for obesity and diabetes, and even positively contributes to nutrition related non-transmissible diseases. However, bariatric surgery is not exempt from complications, most of which are metabolic or nutritionally related. Fortunately, these complications are preventable, predictable and treatable. It becomes necessary for the physician, patient and health team to be to be conscious not only of the importance of the needs not only before surgery and immediately following it, but in the context of the patient´s life span. It is fundamental to fulfill the patient's daily protein requirements by adhering to a protein diet that is both tolerable and absorbable in order to prevent important protein nutritional deficiencies, which sometimes are wrongly attributed to deficiencies of other nutrients. Finally, the patient´s change in life style must be incorporated in the treatment program so as to prevent new weight gain and its related effects.