Gastric Sleeve Recovery Timeline: Week by Week for U.S. Patients

A gastric sleeve usually means one to two days in the hospital, liquid or puréed food for 2 to 3 weeks, regular food by about 6 weeks, and a good month before you feel like yourself at work. If you go abroad, the hardest part is not the surgery. It is getting through the next few weeks without your surgeon nearby, so this timeline covers the trip and the handoff to a U.S. doctor.

The timeline at a glance

Week 1: leaving the hospital and getting home

Most of the first week is about two things, fluids and walking. The ASMBS says patients need 64 ounces of fluid or more a day to avoid nausea, kidney problems, constipation and fatigue, and that this can be hard at first. Sip all day, instead of drinking a lot at once. Walk a few times a day and add more as you can, as MedlinePlus advises.

If you had surgery in Mexico, this is also the week you travel. Clinics we list plan a stay of three to five days. Hospital Azar's itinerary includes a leak test on the day after surgery and a driver to San Diego airport on day 4.

When can you fly home?

The CDC Yellow Book says medical tourists should not fly for 10 days after chest or abdominal surgery, and CDC's travelers' page says 10 to 14 days after major surgery. The UK Civil Aviation Authority gives 10 days after abdominal surgery and about 24 hours after laparoscopic work, because of leftover gas. A sleeve is laparoscopic but still major surgery, and the CDC makes no exception for it. Clinics' day-4 flights are well inside those 10 days.

The ASMBS warns that traveling a long distance after surgery can raise the risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The CDC lists both recent surgery and obesity as risk factors, and says that risk is highest in the 1 to 2 weeks after a flight of over 4 hours. Ask your surgeon for your own date, and whether you need blood thinners. If you can, stay near San Diego for several extra days or drive. See flying after a gastric sleeve.

When can you go back to a desk job?

Cleveland Clinic says to give yourself a good month before expecting to work at full capacity, and that many people feel fatigued while adjusting to so few calories. Many desk workers aim for two to four weeks; that range borrows from MedlinePlus's figure for most regular activities after laparoscopic bypass, as we found no sleeve-specific number. See time off work.

Activity limits

• Lifting: MedlinePlus's bypass guidance says nothing heavier than 10 to 15 pounds until you see your provider. Ask whether your surgeon uses the same limit.
• Exercise: start with walks. Check with your surgeon before anything intense, and aim for about 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day over time.
• Driving: not while on narcotic pain medicine.
• Alcohol: the ASMBS says it is absorbed more quickly after surgery. Ask when, or whether, it's safe for you.
• Pregnancy: the ASMBS says to avoid it for 12 to 18 months, and to have a birth control plan before surgery.

Warning signs

MedlinePlus's discharge list for bariatric surgery says to contact your provider for a temperature above 100°F for more than 4 hours, more redness, swelling or bleeding at a cut, thick or smelly drainage, trouble breathing, a cough that won't go away, yellow skin or eyes, pain your medicine doesn't help, or trouble drinking enough. Vomiting after eating is on the list too.

Call 911 or go to an ER for sudden shortness of breath, chest pain, or fainting, which can be signs of a clot in the lungs. Tell them you had a sleeve, where, and when. A swollen, warm, painful leg needs same-day care.

Follow-up to arrange in the U.S. before you leave

The ASMBS says extensive travel for bariatric surgery should be discouraged unless follow-up and continuity of care are arranged. It also warns that some U.S. surgeons are reluctant to take over, often because no operative report is available. Before you pay a deposit:

1. Ask your primary care doctor if they will order labs and manage your medicines, which often change quickly after surgery.
2. Find a local bariatric program that will see you, and ask what they need.
3. Book a dietitian. Diet stages are hard to manage alone. See gastric sleeve diet stages.
4. Ask the clinic for your operative report and discharge summary in English. The CDC recommends getting records before you return.
5. Plan lab work. Cleveland Clinic says to expect regular visits, blood tests and nutrition screening for at least the next year.
6. Stock liquid protein, vitamins and an acid-reducing medicine if prescribed, before you travel.
7. Read what to do if something goes wrong.

Weight loss over the first year

Cleveland Clinic gives an average of 25% to 30% of body weight in the first one to two years. In a large U.S. study, it was 25.2% at one year. Check what's realistic with our weight loss calculator, and see gastric sleeve weight loss.