Gastric Bypass Surgery Qualifications
Who qualifies for gastric bypass surgery? The gastric bypass surgery qualifications may differ slightly from surgeon to surgeon, but generally you must:
- Be between 18 and 65 years old (exceptions are made)
- Have a BMI over 40 or over 35 with comorbidities
- high blood pressure
- diabetes
- sleep apnea
- cardiovascular disease (heart disease)
- degenerative joint diseases (like arthritis)
- chronic depression due to obesity
- high cholesterol
- gallbladder disease
- infertility
- other chronic illnesses or problems related to your obesity
- Show documented failed attempts at weight loss (physician supervised programs, weight watchers, etc)
- Be mentally able to understand the surgery and make significant lifestyle changes afterwards
Let's break down the gastric bypass surgery qualifications one by one.
Age
Doctors are extremely reluctant to perform obesity surgery on teenagers. Children and teenagers' bodies and minds are still developing, and it is unclear what the long-term effects of this radical surgery may have on them. Some doctors will consider obesity surgery if the teen has reached his or her adult height, meets all of the other criteria for bariatric surgery, and if the doctor feels that both the teen and his or her parents are emotionally able to make the changes necessary after the surgery. Patients over 65 are sometimes considered if the potential benefits outweigh the risks. Older patients are at higher risk for many of the potential complications of gastric bypass. The doctor and patient must carefully consider whether the surgery is likely to extend the life of the patient AND enhance the quality of life of the patient.
Body Mass Index
Guidelines usually stipulate that as part of gastric bypass surgery qualifications, you must have a BMI over 40 without comorbidities or over 35 with at least one comorbidity. Some of these are most certainly familiar to you as "diseases of obesity" because they so often go hand in hand with being overweight. Others might not have struck you as being related - like depression. Yet depression related to being obese can be crippling. It is especially important to be properly screened for this, because many people believe that everything in their life will be sunny and fabulous if only they weren't obese. This is absolutely untrue. You will have the same mother-in-law, the same boss, the same fears, and the same house when you're 150 pounds that you had when you were 250. A psychiatrist will likely examine you to help you understand that weight loss does not guarantee happiness. The American National Institutes of Health list all of the following as conditions that obese people are at greater risk of, or are caused by or worsened by obesity:
- asthma
- breast cancer
- colon cancer
- congestive heart failure
- coronary artery disease
- deep vein thrombosis
- depression
- dysmenorrhea or amenorrhea (disturbance or ceasing of menstruation)
- endometrial cancer
- gallbladder cancer
- gallstones
- gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- high cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia)
- high trigylcerides (hypertriglyceridemia)
- hypertension
- infertility
- metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance)
- osteoarthritis
- sleep apnea
- stroke
- type 2 Diabetes
- urinary stress incontinence
Documented failed attempts at weight loss
What your doctor will consider a documented failed attempt at weight loss may vary, but screening you for gastric bypass surgery qualifications they will usually ask you to write a sort of diet history, explaining what sort of organised weight loss programs you've been on, how long you stayed on them, how much weight you lost (and subsequently gained back), and the time periods associated with each attempt. You probably won't need to remember each time you went on the cabbage soup diet for a week, but it will help you if you can show that you spent a good amount of time on serious weight loss programs. Insurance companies prefer the type that would have some sort of record, like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutri-System, and any physician-assisted program.
Do the gastric bypass surgery qualifications listed here seem a bit daunting? If so, it may be that obesity surgery isn't quite the right thing for you. If you think this list is intimidating, wait until you see what you have to do after surgery! Once you choose a surgeon or bariatric program, you will have a meeting with the doctor, who will help you determine whether you meet the criteria for bariatric surgery.
Here are some other pages you may find interesting:
Type of Obesity Surgery
Gastric Bypass Surgery Stories
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