subject: Are You The Right Candidate For Weight Loss Surgery? [print this page] Bariatric surgery consists of a variety of life altering surgical interventions that can help you reach a healthy weight. These interventions can improve your quality of life if you fit within the guidelines. These guidelines help your physician and potential bariatric surgeon decide if surgical treatment is right for you.
Basic Eligibility for Weight Loss Surgery
Whether youre thinking about having a vertical sleeve gastrectomy or a more involved gastric bypass, basic eligibility requirements are the same. These requirements enable a candidate along with their physician to discern if this type of intervention is worth considering.
Age: Most candidates are between 18 and 65 years old. If youre older than 65, surgery poses a higher risk. If youre younger than 18, exceptions may be made if you are morbidly obese and have serious, life-threatening health problems.
Body Mass Index (BMI): Your body mass index determines your degree of obesity. If you have a BMI of 40 or more and have been obese for longer than five years, you qualify. For men, that is more than 100 pounds overweight, and for women, that is more than 80. If your BMI is 35 to 39, you must have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease or sleep apnea. A BMI of 30 doesnt normally qualify, but exceptions would be serious life-threatening health issues.
Previous dieting attempts: Surgery isnt performed just because you gain weight. To qualify for medical intervention, you should have a solid history of participating in dieting and exercise programs that havent improved your condition. This includes not being able to maintain your losses beneath a qualifying BMI.
Bariatric Weight Loss Team Evaluation
Once your physician recommends surgery, candidates receive additional evaluations from a team of experts. The long-term effects of this procedure require total compliance to dietary recommendations. You must demonstrate an ability to make the required lifestyle changes, which for some individuals include giving up smoking, excessive drinking and overcoming any addiction to drugs.
These meetings further determine if gastric sleeve surgery or a more invasive bariatric procedure is right for you. They examine your past dieting experiences, current eating and exercise habits, motivation for weight loss, ability to handle stress, medical condition, current medications and other important details. Problems in these areas do not automatically disqualify you from weight loss surgery. In some cases, your surgeon might decide you need to learn how to correct or manage a particular problem such as smoking before they perform the surgery. In some cases, you are also required to lose a certain amount of weight prior to treatment.
by: JoAnne Narayan
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