Solid-liquid separation after sleeve gastrectomy
One of the most important rules to be followed after sleeve gastrectomy is solid-liquid separation. The reason of this rule is that the new form of the stomach is quite small and therefore does not have enough volume to take both solid and liquid foods at the same time. Consuming liquid and solid foods at the same time may cause people to not be able to eat enough or not to consume enough liquid. Failure to follow the solid-liquid separation rule may cause the stomach to expand more than expected and gain weight in the long term. After sleeve gastrectomy, the rule of solid-liquid separation must be followed for life. Solid-liquid separation may sometimes be misunderstood by patients. Patients who have sleeve gastrectomy can consume enough liquid to ease swallowing during solid food intake. Especially during dry food consumption, enough liquid can be consumed to ease swallowing. Consuming a few sips of liquid does not violate the solid-liquid rule. This rule should basically apply when the patient is both hungry and thirsty. In this case, the person should choose either to drink water and wait 30 minutes to eat, or to drink water 30 minutes after eating. Our patients can easily acquire this habit after a certain period of time, because this issue is often addressed in nutrition education in the after sleeve gastrectomy.
