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Eligibility Criteria

Who Is a Candidate for Surgery?

In summary, for a person to be a candidate for surgery, all of the following must be met:

• A BMI of 40 or more or a BMI of 35 with high risk co-morbid conditions.
• Because we consider surgery a last resort, we believe the candidate must have tried non-surgical treatments such as dietary programs, behavioral modification and exercise.
• There must be no medical or hormonal reason for the clinically severe obesity. These conditions are rare, but require treatment of the underlying medical problem.
• The candidate must be fully informed about the surgery and what can be expected both as to weight loss and possible complications.
• The candidate must demonstrate a willingness to accept the risks of surgery and to make dramatic lifelong changes in his/her lifestyle, dietary habits, exercise and to commit to medical follow-up.

Insurance Note: Some insurance programs and third party payers define clinically severe obesity differently from the recommendations of the NIH. Despite NIH recommendations and substantial scientific evidence, insurance funding for bariatric surgery is not always available.