| Step 1 Consultation and Educational Seminar |
- Your first step before weight loss surgery will be to have a private consultation
with one of our surgeons and to attend an educational seminar.
You may do these in either order. We want you to have all
the information you need when making the decision to have
bariatric surgery.
- At your initial visit with your surgeon,
you will also have the opportunity to speak with our Patient
Advocate about how your insurance will be paying for your
surgery and what your portion will be, if any.
- They can
also talk to you about financing options if your insurance
does not cover bariatric surgery.
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| Step 2 Required Clearances |
- All patients are required to undergo
psychological testing to assess their readiness for bariatric
surgery. This may be done in our office on the same day
as your consultation with the surgeon if you would like.
(Please note: The fee for the psychologic evaluation
is separate from your surgeon's
consultation fee because the psychologist is an independent
consultant.)
- Nutrition Education is also required and
also may be done the same day as your consultation with
the surgeon. There is no additional fee for this.
- Your
surgeon may require additional clearances, such as cardiology
evaluation or a sleep study to be completed prior to
surgery
Medically-Supervised Weight Loss.
- Many insurance
companies require patients to undergo 3-6 months of physician-supervised
weight loss prior to approving the surgery. Our Internal
Medicine doctor and Nurse Practitioner can provide this
for you.
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| Step 3 Submit to Insurance Company |
- Once all of your clearances
and necessary information have been gathered, our Patient
Advocate will submit your information to your insurance company
for an authorization for surgery.
- Insurance companies provide an authorization anywhere
from 24 hours to 30 days after we request it. The timing of getting your authorization is dependent on how quickly your insurance company responds. We do everything in our power to expedite the process for you. The average time to wait for an authorization is 2 weeks.
- Once we receive your authorization, we will contact you
to finalize your surgery date, set up your Pre-Op visit,
and instruct you on your Pre-Op diet, if your surgeon has
indicated he wants you on one.
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| Step 4 Pre-Op Day |
- Your Pre-Op visit will usually be the Thursday before
your surgery.
- On your Pre-Op
Day, you will meet with your surgeon again to discuss your
surgery, and you will undergo pre-operative testing, including
lab work, EKG, and Chest X-Ray.
- You will also receive your Bariatric Surgery
Handbook and you will attend a Pre-Op class, both of which
contain important information you need to know and understand
proir to surgery.
- Your Pre-Op visit will take much of the day, so please
plan accordingly.
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Step 5 Surgery
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| Step 6 One-Week Post-Op Visit and
Lectures |
- Approximately one week
after surgery, you will attend an office visit with your
surgeon to see how you are doing. You will then have a
series of educational lectures on how to advance your diet,
what vitamins to take, how to start your exercise regimen,
etc. This will take about half of the day, so please plan
accordingly.
|
| Step 7 Follow Up Visits |
- Bariatric surgery is not a one-step process.
Follow up visits with our medical team to review your weight
loss, nutritional status and exercise habits are critical
to your success.
- Periodic lab work is imperative to ensure
you are losing your weight in a healthy and safe way. Vitamin
levels must be checked periodically to prevent deficiencies.
- Your commitment to this follow up is imperative for your
success and health. Standard follow-up schedule for Gastric
Bypass and Sleeve Gastrectomy is: 1 month, 2 months, 3
months, 6 months, 12 months, and annually thereafter. Standard
followup for gastric banding depends on your band adjustment
schedule and is usually more frequent in the first year.
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| Step 8 Support Groups |
- All patients are invited to attend our support
group meetings. They are held monthly and the schedule can
be found on our website.
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