Gastric Bypass Requirements
There are many surgical weight loss procedures available to help people who are obese or morbidly obese. Oasis of Hope offers safe and effective bariatric procedures that can help you lose weight quickly and experience an improved quality of life. One of the most well-known bariatric options is gastric bypass surgery, an effective procedure for dramatic weight loss.
In order to undergo gastric bypass surgery at our Tijuana, México practice, patients must meet certain health and wellness requirements. Dr. Francisco Gonzalez would like to go over these medical requirements below.
Why Requirements for Surgery Must Be Met
Gastric bypass surgery requirements are designed to screen for ideal surgical candidates. By meeting requirements for gastric bypass, patients will achieve optimal results, experiencing the benefits of the surgery while avoiding health risks and complications.
Ultimately, the restrictive and malabsorptive mechanisms for weight loss will work best in people who meet these requirements. If a patient does not meet these requirements, another weight loss option would be most ideal.
More Than 100 Pounds Over Your Ideal Weight
Gastric bypass surgery is not designed for minor weight loss or moderate weight loss. Patients for gastric bypass should be at least 100 pounds over the average weight for people of their height.
Patient Body Mass Index (BMI) Range
A patient’s body mass index (BMI) must be 40 or greater to qualify for gastric bypass surgery. This puts the patients BMI in the very severely obese or greater range. There is an exception to this, however, which we will go just below.
Suffering from Comorbidities Associated with Obesity
Comorbidities associated with obesity refer to negative health conditions associated with being severely overweight. This means high blood pressure (hypertension), respiratory problems such as sleep apnea, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and heart disease.
If you have a BMI of 35 or greater and suffer from one or more comorbidities associated with obesity, a gastric bypass might be right for you.
Inability to Lose Weight Through Diet and Exercise
Difficulty losing weight is another important consideration for gastric bypass surgery. If you have struggled to lose weight through diet and exercise alone for a long period of time, gastric bypass may be ideal for your needs.
Given the common struggles associated with weight loss in obese patients, our Tijuana bariatric surgery center will provide information on weight maintenance after your surgery has been performed. This will help you lose weight safely and maintain a healthy weight years after the surgery has been performed.
Is There a Minimum Age for Gastric Bypass Surgery?
Generally, it’s important that patients be at least 18 years old before undergoing bariatric surgery. However, the procedure has been performed on teenagers who are morbidly obese. This must be considered on a case by case basis depending on the severity of a patient’s obesity and the presence of any other health risks.
Conditions That May Disqualify Patients from Surgery
Finally, there are certain conditions that may prevent a person from undergoing gastric bypass surgery. This includes the following:
- You are currently pregnant or plan on becoming pregnant in the next year
- You are currently undergoing treatment for cancer
- You suffer from an inflammatory disease of the digestive tract
- You suffer from cirrhosis
- You are currently struggling with substance abuse
We can discuss later candidacy for gastric bypass once one or more of these issues is resolved.
Learn More About Gastric Bypass
For more information about gastric bypass surgery and whether or not it’s an ideal procedure for you and your needs, be sure to contact a skilled bariatric surgeon and weight loss specialist. The team at Oasis of Hope can be reached in Tijuana by phone at (619) 690-8417.