You may qualify for bariatric surgery if you:
- Have a BMI that is equal to or greater than 40 or are more than 100 pounds overweight. (For example, an adult who is 5’11” tall and weighs 290 lbs would have a BMI over 40.) Calculate your BMI.
- Have a BMI that is equal to or greater than 35 and at least one obesity-related co-morbidity, such as: type II diabetes (T2DM), hypertension, sleep apnea and other respiratory disorders, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, osteoarthritis, lipid abnormalities, gastrointestinal disorders or heart disease. Calculate your BMI.
- Have been unable to maintain a healthy weight loss for a sustained period of time using other methods.
Guidelines provided by American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
Potential Benefits of Bariatric Surgery:
- Improved psychological health and self-image
- Reduction of some co-morbidities and health care expenses
- Weight loss
Potential Risks of Bariatric Surgery:
- Incisional hernia
- Wound healing problems
- Staple line leak
- Blood clots
- Bowel obstruction
- Pneumonia
- Gastric outlet obstruction
- Vitamin and nutrition deficiencies
- Death in less than one percent of patients
Additional Resources:
Visit the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) for more information on bariatric surgery.
Note: Weight loss results vary depending on the individual. No guarantee of weight loss is provided or implied.