Bariatric Prehabilitation

Bariatric prehabilitation is a structured programme of diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes completed before weight loss surgery. It helps patients become physically and mentally prepared for their procedure, reducing surgical risks and establishing healthy habits that last long after surgery. Most programmes last 2 to 4 weeks and include a low-calorie diet to shrink the liver, making surgery safer and easier to perform.

Bariatric prehabilitation is a multimodal preoperative intervention combining a very-low-calorie diet (VLCD, typically 800-1200 kcal/day), supervised physical activity, smoking cessation, and psychological assessment. Its primary objective is to reduce liver volume by 10-20% through glycogen depletion and hepatic steatosis reduction, which improves laparoscopic visualisation of the gastro-oesophageal junction. Secondary benefits include improved cardiorespiratory fitness and early postoperative mobilisation.

Prehabilitation significantly reduces surgical complications, shortens hospital stays, and improves long-term weight loss outcomes. Dr Joseph Wang and the Accord Medical team incorporate prehabilitation protocols as a critical first step in every surgical weight management journey to maximise patient safety and results.