Your CRMC/ YSC Surgery Experience

Your Surgery
Whether you choose the Gastric Bypass Roux-en-Y or the LapBand you will enjoy beautiful state of the art facilities and great people. The Gastric Bypass Roux-en-Y and the Lap band is done at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center.

Your Hospital Experience at CRMC
With the opening of CRMC new patient tower in Cheyenne in 2003, we now have a beautiful facility to make your recovery from weight loss surgery more comfortable. Before your surgery, you will be introduced to your private room and all the amenities built in.

However, we realize that convenient pleasant facilities are only a start. It is the people of United Medical Center that will make the difference. The staff has been educated specifically in the care and the special needs of the weight loss surgery patient. They will work with the patient and their family in partnership to try to ensure a safe hospital surgery and recovery. Please get to know more about some of these dedicated people on our Key People page.

The Rocky Mountain Weight Loss Surgery Program at United Medical Center offers a private setting with the care and compassion you deserve. During your stay, you'll be our guest - and you'll be treated with compassion for your well-being and respect for your privacy. We're committed to providing a personal, caring environment where you're treated individually, while providing everything you need for surgery and post-operative care. Family and friends are welcome and are encouraged to visit and participate for added support. In fact, Rocky Mountain Weight Loss Surgery Program is the only organization in Wyoming with private hospital rooms dedicated to treating Weight Loss Surgery patients.

After surgery, you'll continue the journey toward your new life - and Rocky Mountain Weight Loss Surgery Program Patient Care Network is there to help you every step of the way.

Gastric Bypass: Your Surgery
With the laparoscopic Gastric Bypass Roux-en-Y, you will have a session to prepare you for your procedure. In that session you will become familiar with the facilities and will be instructed on techniques that you can participate in to make your surgery safer. You will be instructed by our Bariatric Nurse Coordinator, nurses that will be caring for you after your surgery, respiratory technologists, physical therapists, and other specially trained personnel.

With the laparoscopic Gastric Bypass Roux-en-Y, you will be admitted on Monday to the Day Surgery Unit, and will usually go home on Wednesday afternoon.

Advanced Pain Management Techniques: Gastric Bypass
Unfortunately you cannot have surgery without some pain, but we can minimize it using some very effective techniques. The Rocky Mountain Weight Loss Surgery Program is concerned about your pain control.

• First, we offer minimally invasive surgery. There is little doubt that small incisions create less pain. Only a rare patient needs the open technique for weight loss surgery in our program, but if you do, we can control your pain.
• Second , your anesthesiologist is concerned about minimizing your pain and has a number of techniques at their disposal to minimize postoperative pain.
• Third, we will use “Patient Controlled Analgesia” or “PCA” pumps. This is a carefully controlled way to administer narcotics for pain control on a minute-to-minute basis. This allows the patient to push a button to control his or her own pain.
• Fourth, we then can administer oral narcotics when the PCA is no longer needed. We ( and you will after going home) cut the commonly used pain pills (and all the rest of your usual medications) into small pieces for the first few weeks after surgery. We will make sure you your pain is controlled on oral narcotics before your discharge from the hospital, and we will send you home with a prescription for the same pain medication.

Honestly, most laparoscopic Gastric Bypass Roux-en-Y patients do not use more than a few days of narcotics after their discharge from the hospital. Rest assured, that we will do everything in our power to minimize your pain safely.

Your Surgery Center Experience at Yellowstone Surgery Center

Yellowstone Surgery Center was opened in Cheyenne in 2004, and is a beautiful facility to make your weight loss surgery as comfortable, safe and efficient as possible. Yellowstone Surgery is owned by United Medical Center along with various surgeons and anesthesiologists. It is a state of the art facility with a specially designed laparoscopic surgery suite. This room was specifically designed to accomplish high end laparoscopic procedures with the aid of digital monitors suspended from the ceiling and cutting edge computerized equipment that is voice controlled by the surgeon. How to get there...

The Rocky Mountain Weight Loss Surgery Program at Yellowstone Surgery Center offers a private setting with the care and compassion you deserve. During your stay, you'll be our guest - and you'll be treated with compassion for your well-being and respect for your privacy. We're committed to providing a personal, caring environment where you're treated individually, while providing everything you need for surgery and post-operative care.

Laparoscopic Gastric Banding, the Lap-Band: Your Surgery
With the Lap-Band, you will have a session to prepare you for your procedure. In that session you will become familiar with the facilities and will be instructed on techniques that you can participate in to make your surgery safer. You will be instructed by our Bariatric Nurse Coordinator, nurses that will be caring for you after your surgery, respiratory technologists, physical therapists, and other specially trained personnel.

When you have your Lap-Band placed at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, you will have your procedure one day and go home the next. Some patients will choose to have the Lap-Band as an outpatient procedure (Day Surgery). You will follow up with your surgeon ideally about 7 to 14 days after surgery.

Advanced Pain Management Techniques: Lap-Band
Unfortunately you cannot have surgery without some pain, but we can minimize it using some very effective techniques. The Rocky Mountain Weight Loss Surgery Program is concerned about your pain control.

• First, we offer minimally invasive surgery. There is little doubt that small incisions create less pain. Only a rare patient needs the open technique for weight loss surgery in our program, but if you do, we can control your pain.
• Second , your anesthesiologist is concerned about minimizing your pain and has a number of techniques at their disposal to minimize postoperative pain.
• Third, you will have IV narcotics available during you overnight stay, but most patients will do great with oral narcotics. We (and you at home) cut the commonly used pain pills (and all the rest of your usual medications) into small pieces for the first few weeks after surgery. We will make sure you your pain is controlled on oral narcotics before your discharge from the hospital, and we will send you home with a prescription for the same pain medication.

Honestly, most Lap-Band do not use more than a few days of narcotics after their discharge from the hospital. Rest assured, that we will do everything in our power to minimize your pain safely.

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