Siobahn Trotter, DNP
CEO and Founder, SurgiStrong
Anybody who has ever had a surgical procedure knows the rules — no food or drink allowed, typically for 12 hours before surgery.
“The thing is, that way of thinking is actually not backed by research,” says Siobhan Trotter, DNP. A nurse practitioner, Trotter specializes in preparing patients with cancer for surgery and treatment at Ochsner’s Benson Cancer Center. In 2014, while attending a conference in Europe, she was introduced to research that proved that patients who carb load before a surgery fare better, including a reduction in muscle mass loss.
At that point, she says, inspiration struck. Shortly after the conference, outside of her day job, Trotter began working with a surgical oncologist in Santa Barbara to formulate a special pre-surgical beverage. SurgiStrong RecoverAid began commercial production in June 2018.
The beverage, which can be consumed up to two hours before surgery, has been a quick success. It is already being used by physicians in the Gulf Coast and parts of Canada and California, as well as at Ochsner.
“I’ve been approached by people in home health and hospice that want to distribute it as well,” says Trotter, who says the plan is to roll the drink out through hospitals and doctors’ offices, although it is for sale to the public on SurgiStrong’s website.
“Surgery is hard on your body, just like running a marathon,” she says. “It just makes sense to prepare your body by fortifying it beforehand.”
