Surgical Weight Loss
When a person’s BMI reaches the point of severe obesity, surgical weight loss becomes an option. This means the BMI is 35-39.9 with at least one other medical condition caused by the excess weight, or a BMI of 40 without any other diagnosed conditions. When the BMI gets this high, the excess weight places a great deal of strain on a person’s body, and the likelihood of successfully losing weight and keeping it off with nonsurgical methods decreases significantly.
The Surgical Weight Loss Management program is generally available to those patients whose BMI is at least 35 kg/m2. If your BMI is between 35 kg/m2 and 39.9 kg/m2, insurance will only cover the surgery in the presence of an additional co-morbid condition caused by the excess weight. Once the BMI reaches 40 kg/m2, most insurance companies will cover the surgery without an additional co-morbidity. However, there are some insurance companies who do require the presence of an additional co-morbid condition regardless of BMI. It is important to note some insurance companies now have lower BMI with diabetes requirements. Call our office at 330.375.6554 with your insurance information to see if you qualify for surgery.
The surgical program begins with an Introductory Visit. This visit can be completed in person or online. Patients complete medical intake forms that are reviewed at your initial appointment with the surgeon. This is also an opportunity to ask questions about the process for getting to weight loss surgery. Weight loss surgery benefits are verified before scheduling the introductory visit or surgeon visit.
During your surgical evaluation, you will have an individual visit with the surgeon for an evaluation. Our surgeons are board-certified in general surgery and fellowship-trained in advanced laparoscopic and bariatric surgery. The team has completed more than 4,000 minimally invasive weight loss surgeries with excellent outcomes, so you will be in good hands!
Your surgeon will:
- Review your medical history and determine whether surgery is an option for you
- Talk with you about your weight loss goals
- Explain the types of surgical procedures available
- Help you decide which procedure is the best choice for you
- Complete a physical examination
- Answer any clinical question that you have about weight loss surgery
Because the financial aspects of weight loss surgery can be complicated, a member of our financial team will also meet with you on the day of your surgical evaluation. They will review your insurance coverage for weight loss surgery, explain out-of-pocket costs and outline next steps should you decide to enroll.
Once you are cleared to move forward with surgery by your surgeon, which usually takes place at the end of your initial evaluation, your next step is program enrollment. Enrollment requires a downpayment on the program administration fee, which initiates the process for beginning your pre-operative evaluation.
Many steps are necessary to meet all of the requirements of your insurance company and our program. The average time from program enrollment to surgery is six months.
Call the Weight Management Institute New Patient line at 330.375.6554 to schedule an appointment.
We've helped 8,000 people lose more than 400,000 pounds. And counting. Watch how.
