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Bariatric Care

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if surgery is right for me or if I qualify?

The guidelines we use to determine which patients are good candidates for weight loss surgery were developed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a branch of the federal government.

Your first step would be to calculate your Body Mass Index or BMI, a measure of height and weight. You can do that by clicking here. For weight loss surgery, most people should be approximately 100 pounds over their ideal body weight and have a BMI of 40 or greater. At this level of obesity, many people have serious health risks from their weight. However, many insurance companies will allow weight loss surgery for individuals with a BMI in the 35.0 - 35.9 range if they suffer from other significant obesity-related illnesses.

Those considering surgery also need to be non-smokers (no smoking within two months of surgery) and must not have untreated mental illness or chemical dependency concerns. You can learn more about the various qualifications for surgery at our free introductory information sessions. Click here for a schedule of upcoming classes.

A commitment to lifestyle changes is also an important requirement. Weight loss surgery will change your relationship with food and how you eat permanently. If you are not ready for change, or are unwilling to change, an operation may not be right for you.

You'll want to check with your medical insurance company about insurance qualification.

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How do I calculate my body mass index (BMI)?

This measure of obesity divides your weight (in kilograms) by your height (in meters), and divides by your height (in meters) again. It relates your weight to your surface area.

Click here for our BMI calculator.

What things might disqualify me for surgery?

Certain medical conditions, life situations or lifestyle choices may lead our surgeons to decline to operate on you. These decisions are made for one purpose: To make sure that the benefit to you from surgery is worth the risk. Here are some conditions that may make the procedure too risky:

If you are older than 65, the long-term benefits of weight loss surgery may not be reached because of lifespan. This is only a guideline, and our surgeons will review your case if you are between 65 and 70. It is very unlikely that an operation would be offered if you are older than age 70.
If you have an active, serious mental illness, the surgery may not be right for you. A complete psychological examination will help to determine this.
Active drug or alcohol abuse may make it difficult for you to follow instructions after the surgery, causing serious complications. You need to be chemical-free for one year and participating in a recovery support program.
Lack of support from family and friends can jeopardize the success of surgery for certain individuals. Our program staff can provide some support to you, but having your own personal support system is essential. For many people, morbid obesity is a socially isolating disease. Connections, our support group, is designed to be your sounding board or ally, a place to vent frustrations, solve problems, and meet other people who deal with the same issues that you do.
Severe heart or lung disease may make an operation too risky for you, and the chance of serious injury or death might be higher than the benefits from an operation. Only you and your surgeon can make that determination together.
Those who've had cancer within the last five years may be candidates for weight loss surgery if their oncologist thinks the chance of recurrence is minimal. Bring medical records and a letter from your cancer doctor to your bariatrician consultation or send them to us before your appointment.

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How can I get more information about surgery?

To get more information about weight loss surgery and if it is right for you, we recommend that you start by viewing information on our web site. In addition, we offer free introductory meetings to help you learn more about weight loss surgery and the HealthEast Bariatric Care process.

How can I obtain an appointment to see a surgeon?

The first important step is to attend the free informational seminar where you'll learn about obesity, associated illnesses, weight loss surgery options and whether surgery is right for you. Click here for a schedule of classes and registration information. After you have attended the seminar, and you have had an initial appointment with the HealthEast Bariatric Care bariatrician, (a medical doctor certified in weight loss management,) you may be scheduled for an initial visit to meet with a surgeon.

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What can I expect for my first consultation with the surgeon?

Your first appointment with the surgeon can be from 30 to 90 minutes depending on your health history. When you meet with your prospective surgeon, bring family and/or close friends with you. Just like at our informational seminar, there is an amazing amount of information to hear, learn, process and consider. Having extra ears in the room is invaluable so that when you wonder, "What did they say about ...?" you have someone else who may remember.

Plan to arrive about 20 minutes early so that you can complete several forms and we can obtain basic medical information, like your weight and vital signs. Your surgeon will review your medical and surgical history, medications, allergies, social and family life situation, and ask about a variety of illnesses or conditions unrelated to your visit. All of this is done to get a complete picture of your health — which is influenced by all of these items. Next your surgeon will examine your body, usually listening to your heart and lungs, inspecting your mouth and teeth, evaluating and feeling your abdomen, and checking your legs for swelling. This can give clues to previously undiagnosed illnesses — or problems you may have forgotten — and helps the surgeon plan the safest preoperative preparation.

Next, your surgeon will discuss with you the different operations for surgical control of weight. Your surgeon will listen to your ideas about which operation you feel is right for you. He or she may ask additional questions to clarify the risks and benefits of each surgical procedure — detailed and customized to your special medical and life circumstances.

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How long does the entire process take until I have surgery?

The very beginning of the process to the actual date of surgery can vary greatly. On average, the pre-surgery preparation process takes three to six months depending upon requirements for your specific insurance.

What information do you need from me for insurance approval?

Briefly, your insurance company wants to know:

Do you meet criteria for weight loss surgery?
Have you exhausted all other treatments (self-directed diets, physician supervised diets, medications, exercise programs)?
Are there any reasons that you would not benefit from surgery?

In addition, we will need you to provide:

Insurance ID numbers
Medications and their dosages
Medical records, including doctors' names, addresses and phone numbers
A detailed list of every previous weight loss effort you have made, particularly in the last two years. Please give us the name of the program (e.g., Atkins, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, physician-supervised diet, exercise program, prescription or non-prescription medications, etc.), the dates you started and stopped and your weights before and after the program.

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Is weight loss surgery reversible?

Not all surgeries are reversible. Although a LapBand® can be physically removed, it leaves a scar and alters the surrounding tissue — which is probably permanent. Other operations, like a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass really cannot be easily reversed — that is, to restore the anatomy to what it was before surgery. When you reverse any weight loss surgery, you will likely regain your weight. The surgery is a tool to help you manage your disease.

If I have seen some other surgeon, am I still required to go through this process?

Yes. We want you to go through our entire process because there are most likely important differences from other providers. For instance, we require that you have some basic education about obesity, associated illnesses, weight loss surgery options and whether surgery is right for you. In order to make sure that everyone we see has the same information on which they base their actions and decisions, we require that you attend our informational seminar.

Also, if you already have an authorization from your insurance company, it is linked to a specific surgeon at a specific hospital, and is not necessarily transferable to HealthEast Bariatric Care. It will benefit us greatly to get that authorization from you — but we will also need the original source documents for that authorization. This might include the psychological evaluation, dietitian evaluation and/or a letter of support from your physician or from you. What is needed will depend on your specific insurance company and your policy. The HealthEast Bariatric Care team will also review all the documents to determine if there is anything else you need to do to complete the HealthEast Bariatric Care process.

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Do you have a follow-up program?

We have an extensive follow-up program and expect you to return to see us for the rest of your life. Our follow-up is done with our surgeons and our nurses.

Our follow-up visits are:

After surgery in the hospital
Two weeks after surgery in the bariatric clinic
LapBand® patients will come in for their first LapBand® adjustment four weeks after their two-week postoperative check-up with the surgeon
Three months after surgery
Six month after surgery
Nine months after surgery
One year after surgery
18 months after surgery
Two years after surgery
Yearly after the second anniversary of your surgery

Follow-up visits consist of a detailed interview discussing your eating habits, texture and amount of foods, volume and consistency of foods and liquid intake. We also discuss nutrition in general, vitamins and supplements specific to your particular operation, exercise, emotional health, body image and changes, and check laboratory values at varying intervals, depending on your operation. Most follow-up visits are 30 to 45 minutes, depending on your stage and progress.

We are very serious about the importance of long-term follow-up and are dedicated to your lifelong health.

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Should I attend a support group?

Our three support groups, called Connections, meet monthly. They are open to all people who are thinking about weight loss surgery, have had an operation or are in recovery. A support group provides a variety of benefits. First of all, it offers an environment where participants understand where have been, where you are or where will be in this journey. They understand the problems you face every day. Many of them have the same problems and can share the ways that they have dealt with them.

Long-term studies show that people who actively participate in support groups do better in terms of weight loss, satisfaction with outcomes of their operations and better functioning. Connections is not restricted to people who are being seen by our surgeons, and is not limited in size. We hope that you find our groups useful!

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At which hospital do the surgeons operate?

Our doctors offer weight loss surgeries at St. Joseph's Hospital in downtown St. Paul. The hospital is located just across the skyway from our clinic location. Our free informational seminars are held at St. Joseph's Hospital and Woodwinds Health Campus. Click here for dates.

Do you accept private pay patients?

Unfortunately, HealthEast Bariatric Care does not accept private pay patients for weight loss surgery.

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