What To Expect on Your First Visit

A Warm Welcome to a Tough Decision

Making the decision to choose lap-band, gastric bypass or gastric sleeve is hard, so the proper welcome, support and information is important. Rest assured we hope to provide you with excellent customer service from AIBL staff.

1. You will be greeted by our front office staff upon your arrival in a courteous manner. They will attend to any immediate needs such as water and location of restroom. You will be seated in our spacious, luxurious and comfortable waiting room.
2. You will be registered into our practice. Your copay and other applicable charges are collected and a receipt is given to you. Hopefully you have already completed the required paperwork at home. There may be a few forms including privacy notice, financial policy that you will need to read and sign.
3. The medical assistant then will take you into our treatment area. Your height, weight and other vital signs are recorded in your chart. Then you will be seated in our professional consultation room. One or two members of your family may be with you inside the consultation room. Generally, children under 8 years of age are not allowed in the consultation room.
4. You will watch an informational video on Bariatric Surgery. Then Dr. Ganta will greet you in the consultation room. He will discuss with you your medical history, complete a general physical examination, discuss the procedure options you are seeking and answer all your questions. The consultation generally lasts 45 - 60 minutes.
5. You will then be guided to the checkout desk. Further steps and our plan for you will be discussed. Any follow up appointments, referrals to other specialists are made. You will receive a document of requirements to fulfill prior to your surgery date as general guide. AIBL will work with you to accomplish all these requirements. These include medical testing and specialist evaluations.

Timeline Expectations

Please expect to spend approximately 2 hours in our office on your first visit. Completing the paperwork ahead of your visit at home makes the process go much smoother. Dr. Ganta will spend as much time as needed with each patient and therefore while we try hard to keep all appointments on time it is not always possible. But be sure that you will be able to spend as much time as you need with Dr. Ganta to get your questions answered.

Information you will obtain

You will receive appropriate information about the procedure you are considering. This information may be in an electronic format via email or a web-link and will have necessary information about the procedure, risks and complications, pre-procedure testing, insurance information, timeline, preoperative appointments, detailed guidelines for nutrition, fitness, lifestyle changes, psychological well being as well your hospital stay and our exclusive aftercare programs. You may also receive a user name and password for AIBL online applications including patient portal.