Qualifications

You are a candidate for surgical weight loss if you:

• Have a BMI greater than or equal to 35 with one or more significant obesity related conditions including:
  • High blood pressure
  • Diabetes
  • Arthritis
  • Sleep apnea
  • Obesity hypoventilation syndrome
  • High cholesterol
  • Psudotumor cerebri
  • Family history of early coronary heart disease
• Other possible indications for patients with BMI's between 35 and 40 include:
  • Obesity-induced physical problems interfering with lifestyle (e.g. joint disease treatable but for the obesity
  • Body size problem precluding or severely interfering with social life, employment, family function, and ambulation).
• Have a BMI greater than 40 regardless of the presence of other medical condition
• Are 20-60 years old (with some exceptions)
• Have failed multiple attempts with supervised dietary, behavioral and medical therapy
• Understand and accept the operative risks
• Have realistic expectations and are motivated
• Are capable of understanding the procedure and its implications
• Have a lifelong commitment to lifestyle changes and long-term follow-up

Some of the following are considerations that go into the decision making process - whether surgery is offered as an option, and whether you choose the surgical option.

• Weight: Surgery is only offered when a patient is so heavy that they meet the medical definition of morbid obesity and have failed dietary and medical management of this problem. For patients who do not meet this criteria, the risk of surgery outweighs the expected health benefits of the weight loss. Bariatric surgery should not be done for only cosmetic reasons. Unlike other centers in the country, we currently do not offer bariatric surgery to someone who does not meet the weight criteria.

• Ability to comply with therapy: You must be able to follow the advice of your surgeon, especially regarding dietary habits after surgery. Bariatric surgery is only a tool - it is unrealistic expectation if a patient depends only on the procedure to "take care of the weight problem" in some magical way. Dietary habits that we recommend after a gastric bypass are simple and very effective if adhered to. As you explore this site, you will learn that bariatric surgery is a powerful tool to achieve long-lasting weight loss if used correctly.

• Complicated medical conditions: Some people who are severely obese are extremely ill as a result of their obesity. In these individuals, the excess weight has caused significant and permanent damage to one or more organ systems. The most commonly affected organs are the lungs (sleep apnea), the heart (congestive failure or coronary artery disease), the kidneys (damage from diabetes or high blood pressure), and bones and joints (damage from stress and arthritis). Medical problems like these increase the risk of any major surgical procedure including bariatric surgery, but they also strengthen the need for weight loss. In other words, patients with these medical conditions require careful consideration, but do not necessarily contraindicate surgery. It is the sole decision of our surgeons at UIHC to decide whether your risk of undergoing surgery outweighs your current medical risks – and then offer you gastric bypass surgery.

• Age: Surgical candidates at the extremes of the age spectrum also require extra consideration to evaluate the appropriateness of surgery. At UIHC, we generally do not offer this kind of surgery to patients who are older than their 60 years of age or younger than 20 years since they may be at a higher-than-average risk for this operation and also because they may not completely benefit from its outcome. For example, older patients may not be physically active and will therefore not be able to comply with the exercise regimen after surgery. Similarly, on the younger side of the age spectrum, the concern is not medical risk but more a question of whether the individual can really understand what they are getting into. Patients must demonstrate exceptional maturity and independent thought to be good candidates for a bariatric surgical procedure.