Am I a Good Candidate for Bariatric Surgery?

Bariatric surgery includes gastric bypass and gastric sleeve surgeries — procedures that alter your digestive system to help you lose weight. Specifically, bariatric surgery reduces your stomach’s size or allows food to bypass part of your stomach to help you feel full after eating fewer calories. As a result, you take in fewer calories, and you lose weight.

Choosing surgery for weight-loss is not a decision to take lightly. It’s only recommended when other strategies have failed, and your size is a possible danger to your overall health. 

If you are significantly overweight, the skilled surgical team at Lakeland Surgical Clinic, PLLC, located in Jackson, Mississippi, can help you decide if bariatric surgery is right for you. Here’s what we consider when determining if you’re a good candidate.

You have a high body mass index

Patients who have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more are potential candidates for bariatric surgery. BMI is a measure that is derived according to your height and weight. 

Some people with a BMI of 35 or more who also have serious health problems linked to weight challenges are candidates for bariatric surgery, too. These health problems may include heart disease, sleep apnea, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and Type 2 diabetes.

If a person has Type 2 diabetes that is hard to control with medicine and lifestyle changes and has a BMI of 30 or more, they may also qualify. 

Other weight-loss strategies have failed

Before undergoing bariatric surgery, we’ll consider whether you’ve tried to lose weight using nonsurgical methods.  Nonsurgical methods include lifestyle changes, like diligent diet and exercise, as well as medications. Whenever possible, weight loss using nonsurgical means is preferable.

You may have been able to use lifestyle adjustments or medications to lose weight initially, but found it impossible to keep the weight off. In these cases, you may consider bariatric surgery as a permanent solution. 

You’re committed to changing your lifestyle after surgery

You’ll need to be fully involved in maintaining healthy habits after your surgery. We’re here to help you change your eating and physical activity patterns, but ultimately, you must be willing to make these changes for the rest of your life to achieve long-term success. 

After surgery, you’ll also need to commit to regular medical follow-ups. You may need extra vitamins and minerals too, simply because bariatric surgery makes it hard for you to eat all the food you need for proper nutrition.

You pass an extensive health screening

Before we approve you for bariatric surgery, we have you undergo a thorough medical screening. We want to make sure that you understand the implications of surgery and that your cardiovascular and respiratory systems can handle the rigors of anesthesia. 

We may ask you to adopt healthy habits prior to surgery to prompt the weight-loss process and then, of course, continue to refine them after your procedure. 

If you’re experiencing weight challenges and traditional weight-loss strategies have failed, don’t give up hope. Make a call to Lakeland Surgical Clinic, PLLC, and set up an appointment. You may also request an appointment using the online scheduler.