Is Weight Loss Surgery Right for You?

While diet and exercise have been consistently shown to result in weight loss, 90-95% of patients with BMIs over 35 may regain the lost weight within one to two years. Weight loss (bariatric or metabolic weight loss) surgery is for patients who have tried repeatedly, and unsuccessfully, to lose weight and maintain that weight loss using nonsurgical methods. Patients usually begin to consider surgery after experiencing one or more cycles of losing and regaining weight or have significant medical conditions caused by their increased weight (such as diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea).

Patients may be referred for weight loss surgery by their primary care or specialist physician, but are not required to unless necessitated by their insurance company. All patients are encouraged to discuss weight loss surgery with their other treating physicians, but are welcome to call us themselves at any time to initiate the process.

You do not need to be certain that you are ready to undergo weight loss surgery at the time you initiate the process. In fact, we strongly recommend that you come in to see one of our surgeons early in the decision-making process so that we can make sure you have all of the information you will need to make an informed decision. Some patients choose to begin their weight loss efforts in our nonsurgical program and then transfer to the surgical program if they are unable to lose the weight without surgery.

Making the decision to have weight loss surgery can be overwhelming. We want to give you as many tools as we can to help you make that decision. Some of the factors to consider include:

• The degree of your obesity
• The presence or absence of other diseases caused by the excess weight
• The number of times you have tried previously to lose weight
• Your family history of obesity
• Your behavioral and emotional health
• Your readiness to make lifelong changes in eating and exercise behaviors
• Your willingness to follow with lifetime follow-up after surgery
• The amount of insurance overage you may or may not have for weight loss (bariatric) surgery
• Whether the program you choose is a nationally accredited program for weight loss surgery

Summa Health System – Akron Campus is accredited as a MBSAQIP (Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program) Comprehensive Center, and all weight loss surgeries scheduled through the Summa Health Weight Management Institute are performed there. This accreditation means that we meet rigorous program guidelines set by the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery.

Ready to start the journey toward a significant weight loss? Contact us at 330.375.6554.