Multidisciplinary Support
In addition to the surgery itself, two aspects that are integral to the overall care of these patients are the psychology component and the plastic surgery component. The psychiatrists at the USC Department of Psychiatry, and Susan Downey, M.D., assistant professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, collaborate with Dr. Anthone.
Psychology
A trained psychiatrist or psychologist evaluates all patients considering weight loss surgery. It is important to carefully screen potential candidates because some patients may be psychotic or emotionally unstable. If these individuals are uncooperative during hospitalization or post-operatively, there is an increased risk of complications. In addition, patients who have had previous episodes of clinical depression may experience a relapse of their illness following surgery because of the stress involved in going through such a life-altering procedure."
Interestingly, many of the psychological challenges for these patients appear months after surgery, which is why follow-up evaluations are sometimes necessary. Some patients unpredictably have become depressed after the surgery because of unrealistic notions of what this surgery might accomplish for them, and how quickly the weight will come off. And once they have lost their weight - many losing 100 pounds or more - they need to readjust their body image.
Since food has always been a source of pleasure for many patients, when they cannot return to their old eating habits after surgery, they feel something is missing in their lives. The psychological component of this surgery is vital because, just as there can be surgical complications, there are a significant number of patients who have some sort of psychiatric or psychological complications. These complications must be dealt with directly which we do in this program.
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