Gastric Bypass Candidates

The Gastric Bypass surgery is not right for everyone. Here are some of the things we will consider when evaluating your candidacy for obesity surgery.

Indications

The Gastric Bypass surgery may be right for you if:

• Your serious attempts to lose weight have had only short-term success.
• You are prepared to make substantial changes in your eating habits and lifestyle.
• You do not drink alcohol in excess.
• The perceived risks of continued obesity are greater than the risks of surgery. In general, the risks of obesity are thought to outweigh the risks of surgery when a patient is 100 pounds or more overweight or has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or greater.
• Patients of lesser weights are sometimes approved if they have a “life-threatening” co-morbidity such as diabetes, high blood pressure, severe sleep apnea, etc.

Contraindications

People at the extremes of life, women who are pregnant, alcoholics and drug addicts, and patients with certain psychological diagnoses, are not eligible for weight loss surgery. People with life expectancies of only a few years are virtually always not candidates.

Other conditions like prior gastric surgery, limited intelligence, inability to chew, extremes of youth and age, inability to exercise, and poor motivation to change all weigh against surgery.