Am I a candidate for surgery

In order to be a candidate for weight loss surgery, patients must satisfy all of the following criteria:

1. Patients must have a body mass index of at least 40. A body mass index of 35 – 40 may be considered if other associated illnesses (co-morbidities) are present.
2. Complete a medical evaluation with one of our surgeons. Patients should have medical documentation from their primary physician that shows evidence of serious attempts at non-surgical weight loss prior to consideration for weight loss surgery (including physician-supervised programs).
3. Medically treatable or congenital causes for morbid obesity may be present.

Surgery is a very serious and aggressive treatment for morbid obesity. As such, candidates must have appropriate psychological and emotional resources to deal with the lifelong behavioral and dietary changes that surgery will entail.

Those considering surgery must be fully informed as to the risks of surgery and the possible postoperative complications, as well as the expected weight loss. It is also possible that weight loss may be less than expected.

Understanding all of the above things, the patient must be willing to accept the risks of surgery and be committed to the lifelong changes in lifestyle. The patient must also commit to lifelong medical follow-up.

This is necessary to make sure that no long-term nutritional deficiencies or other complications from the surgery develop.

Many insurance companies fail to recognize extreme obesity in the same way as the National Institute of Health. In many cases, insurance companies do not cover gastric bypass surgery even though it is medically indicated.

In these circumstances, other financial arrangements may need to be made and will be discussed as required.