Drinking plenty of water over the months spent preparing for weight loss surgery helps patients in a few important ways such as giving you an early feeling of fullness thus promoting pre op weight loss keeping you well hydrated and flushing out your kidneys in order to reduce the chances of kidney stones that can develop with rapid weight loss following surgery. The ultimate guide to bariatric surgery make the most of your weight loss journey with our free weight loss surgery toolkit according to the american society for metabolic and bariatric surgery 228000 bariatric procedures were performed in 2017 nearly 70000 more procedures than just six years prior in 2011. Preparing for weight loss surgery set yourself up for long term success implement lifestyle changes before your operation to prepare yourself for the changes that will come after weight loss surgery when deciding on a procedure for bariatric surgery you need to consider the lifestyle changes you will need to live with after the operation. Gastric sleeve surgery is a restrictive weight loss surgery your surgeon can perform the procedure in one of two ways by making a large incision in your abdomen or by making several small incisions and using a camera to guide the tools about 85 of your stomach is removed with only a thin vertical sleeve remaining