If you’re exploring the possibility of weight loss surgery, but you aren’t sure who qualifies, or how, this weight loss surgery checklist will help you navigate the process. Here’s a look at the medical requirements needed to qualify, as well as the physical and mental preparations required for weight loss surgery.
Do you know your BMI? That stands for Body Mass Index, which is a ratio of your height to your weight. Click here to calculate yours; you’ll need to know it to find out whether you qualify.
A BMI of under 18.5 is categorized as underweight, 18.5-24.9 is normal, 25-29.9 is overweight, and 30 or greater is obese.
The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery sets the following qualifications for most bariatric surgeries:
Low BMI for Weight Loss Surgery: Do I Qualify?
There are multiple aspects to preparation for weight loss surgery. It helps to divide them into categories: lifestyle (food and nutrition), mental and emotional health, and then practical concerns, such as choosing a surgeon and facility, deciding on what surgery is best for you, and navigating the healthcare and insurance system.
Before your weight loss surgery, you may have any of several medical tests, including bloodwork, X-rays, gastrointestinal tests and an electrocardiogram (EKG). This gives your surgeon detailed information about your health. You’ll also meet with:
In the two to three weeks prior to surgery, your surgeon will give you a pre-op diet meant to shrink your liver and reduce the amount of fat in your abdomen, both of which makes your surgery safer. In general, you’ll be asked to cut out foods high in fat, carbohydrates, and sugar, and instead focus on lean, easily digestible proteins, such as protein shakes and low-calorie soups. As the date for your surgery nears, you may need to follow a diet that is mostly or all liquids.
You’ll also begin small amounts of exercise daily — maybe just 10 minutes of slow walking, for instance — which will slowly increase after your surgery.
Most bariatric surgery programs want you to avoid alcohol, and quit smoking before surgery; it reduces complications and helps prevent blood clots, anesthesia risks, and post-op infections.
Research shows that weight loss surgery patients typically have a history of depression, anxiety or other mental disorders. A 2016 report in the Journal of the American Medicine Association reviewed 68 published studies concerning mental illness among bariatric patients, hoping to learn whether preoperative conditions affected post-operative results. Depression and binge-eating disorder were the most common conditions found; and the report determined that “moderate-quality evidence supports an association between bariatric surgery and lower rates of depression postoperatively.”
A visit with a psychologist before surgery accomplishes a few things. It evaluates how you are doing mentally at this point in time, your expectations of how the surgery will change your life, how you manage stress, and what strengths or weaknesses you have that could help or hinder your post-op success.
In addition, the psychologist will discuss food habits you may have developed that have provided comfort in the past, but that will not be available to you after surgery, such as emotional eating.
One of the most important decisions you make will be the choice of your doctor and the facility where he or she operates. Obesity Action recommends that prospective patients do the following:
How to Find a Great Weight Loss Surgeon in Los Angeles
Once you’ve decided on a surgeon, the two of you will take into account everything about your health situation and talk about which weight loss surgery is best for you. Differences include recovery time, expected weight loss, invasiveness of each procedure, risks and possible complications of each procedure, and whether the procedure can be reversed or revised.
Every insurance policy is different; some cover weight loss surgery while others do not. The staff members who file claims at your surgery facility should be a big help to you; they’ve worked with every insurer at some point. Differences in coverage vary by state, employer, and insurance carrier.
If your health insurance does cover bariatric surgery, you will need to show why it is necessary, which may require a combination of medical tests and documentation from both your primary care doctor and your bariatric surgeon.
If you’re covered, your insurance will likely pay 80% of the “customary and usual” fees for the surgeon, anesthetist, and facility; your copay amount can range from small to significant. Medicare covers gastric bypass surgery for people 65 and older who have a BMI of 35 or higher and a weight-related health issue, such as diabetes or heart disease.
There are three main areas you’ll want to learn about as you research bariatric surgery: preparation and recovery; your surgeon and facility; and how your insurance applies to your situation.
For more detailed information on these and other topics, download our Ultimate Guide to Bariatric Surgery. It’s free and goes into more depth about selecting the right procedure, choosing the right surgeon, cost comparisons between types of surgery, working your way through the insurance process, nutrition tips for both pre- and post-op, and more.
To speak to someone at Soma Bariatrics about your weight loss journey, call 855-766-2411 or click here for an email request form.
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