Taking Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro? What to Sort Out Before Booking Surgery in Colombia

GLP-1 medications such as semaglutide and tirzepatide are now common among people booking elective surgery abroad. They matter for anesthesia, and they can affect when it is sensible to schedule. Here is how to bring them into the booking conversation early, rather than discovering the issue at the pre-op consult.

Why this belongs in the booking conversation

When people book surgery abroad, they tend to mention medications late: on the intake form a week before travel, or in the anesthesiologist's office the day before surgery. With GLP-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), late is the wrong time.

These medications can affect when it is sensible to operate and what preparation the anesthesia team wants. If a change to your dose, your diet or your surgery date is needed, it is far easier to make it before flights and lodging are paid for. This guide is about getting that information into the plan early. It is not advice on whether to take or stop any medication; that decision belongs to your prescriber and your surgical team.

What the 2024 multi-society guidance says

In October 2024, five professional organizations released joint guidance on GLP-1 medications before surgery. The announcement from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (2024) lists the ASA, the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, the International Society of Perioperative Care of Patients with Obesity and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons as co-authors.

The key points, paraphrased:

• Most patients can continue. The guidance says most patients can keep taking GLP-1 medications before elective surgery, and advises against withholding them simply because someone is overweight or obese. Stopping is weighed against risks such as higher blood sugar in people with diabetes.
• The concern is delayed stomach emptying. Food left in the stomach raises the risk of aspiration during general anesthesia or deep sedation.
• Some patients are higher risk. The guidance highlights people in the dose-escalation phase (typically the first 4 to 8 weeks), people on higher doses, people with active stomach symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or constipation, and people with other conditions that slow stomach emptying.
• Precautions for higher-risk patients. These include a liquid-only diet for 24 hours before the procedure, adjustments to the anesthesia plan, and point-of-care ultrasound just before the procedure to check stomach contents.
• Defer elective surgery in some cases. The guidance suggests waiting until the escalation phase is over and stomach symptoms have resolved.

This is US guidance. Colombian anesthesiologists may follow it, adapt it, or apply their own protocols. That is exactly why you raise it during booking: to find out which approach your team uses.

The booking-stage questions to ask

Send these to the clinic's coordinator and ask for the answers to come from the anesthesia team, not just the sales side.

1. I take [medication name] at [dose], injected [weekly / daily], and my last dose change was on [date]. Does your anesthesia team want me to continue, hold or adjust it before surgery?
2. Will you want me on a liquid-only diet before the procedure, and if so, for how long?
3. Do you use stomach ultrasound before anesthesia for patients on these medications?
4. If I have nausea or vomiting when I arrive, what happens to my surgery date?
5. Does my medication change the type of anesthesia you would plan for this procedure?

Keep the written replies. Forward them to your prescriber at home so both sides are working from the same plan.

How your dose history affects the calendar

The single most practical thing to know when booking is where you are in your treatment. Here is how the guidance's risk factors translate into scheduling questions.

If you are about to start a GLP-1 medication and also planning surgery, consider which should come first. Talk to your prescriber about whether starting right before an elective operation makes sense, given that the early weeks are the ones the guidance flags.

Getting three people on the same page

With a GLP-1 medication, three parties have a stake in the plan: the doctor who prescribes it at home, the Colombian surgeon, and the Colombian anesthesiologist. They rarely talk to each other directly, so you become the messenger. A few habits make that work:

• One written summary. Keep a short document with your medication, dose history, symptoms and the anesthesia team's instructions. Update it whenever anything changes, and send the same version to everyone.
• Ask your prescriber for a brief note. A few lines confirming why you take the medication, the current dose and any concerns gives the Colombian team context they cannot get from a pharmacy label.
• Confirm who has the final say. On surgery day, the anesthesiologist decides whether it is safe to proceed. Knowing that in advance makes a last-minute postponement less of a shock.
• Note the date of your last injection. Write it down and bring it. It is one of the first things an anesthesiologist is likely to ask.

If your prescriber and the Colombian team disagree, do not split the difference on your own. Ask them to explain their reasoning and, if needed, push the surgery date rather than guess.

Weight loss and the procedure itself

For some procedures, especially body contouring after significant weight loss, the medication matters for a second reason: your shape and weight may still be changing. Surgeons often prefer patients to be at a reasonably stable weight before body-contouring work so that the result is not altered by further loss. This is a clinical judgment for your surgeon, but it is worth asking directly: "Given that I am still losing weight on this medication, is now the right time?"

Being honest about your trajectory protects you from booking a procedure you might later want to revise. It also gives the surgeon a chance to tell you, before you pay anything, if they would rather wait.

Arrival and fasting logistics

If your team asks for a liquid-only day before surgery, that day is likely to be your first or second day in Colombia. Plan for it:

• Book lodging with a fridge and a nearby supermarket so you can stock clear broths, juices or whatever your team allows.
• Avoid scheduling a long travel day immediately before the liquid day; arriving tired, dehydrated and hungry is a poor start.
• Confirm the exact start time of your fasting window in writing. Colombian clinics often send these by WhatsApp the day before, so watch for the message.
• If you are diabetic, ask how the liquid diet and fasting interact with your other diabetes medications.

Travelling with injectable pens

Many GLP-1 medications come as refrigerated pens. If your team wants you to continue or resume during the trip:

• Carry them in hand luggage, in original packaging, with a copy of your prescription.
• Use an insulated travel case and ask your accommodation to confirm there is a fridge in the room.
• Plan the timing of your weekly injection around the surgery date as your team instructs.
• Check current rules on bringing medication into Colombia before you fly; our medication guide goes through what to pack.

After surgery: restarting

When to restart, if you paused, is another decision for your surgical team and prescriber together. Ask before you leave the hospital, and ask again at your first follow-up. Nausea from anesthesia or pain medicine can overlap with GLP-1 side effects, so it helps to have a clear plan rather than guessing in your hotel room.

Make sure your discharge summary records what was done with your medication around surgery. Your home doctor will want to know.

A disclosure template you can copy

Paste this into your first message to the clinic and fill in the blanks:

The bottom line

A GLP-1 medication is not usually a reason you cannot have surgery in Colombia, and under the 2024 guidance most patients can continue taking it. It is, however, a reason to involve the anesthesia team at the booking stage, to be honest about where you are in your dose schedule and to leave room in your plan for a liquid day or a later date. Raise it first, not last.