Bariatric Doctors and How to Find Them

If you’ve made the decision to undergo bariatric surgery as a weight-loss remedy, you will obviously need to find a qualified bariatric doctor to perform the procedure.

Which naturally begs the question, “Where do I go to find the best bariatric doctors in my area?” Indeed, it’s critical to choose the best doctor for the weight-loss surgery you’ve chosen. After all, the bariatric field is like any other area of medicine — there are some good doctors, some average ones, and even some bad ones.

Physicians don’t like to admit that incompetence exists within their particular field, but it does. Doctors are people, and people make mistakes and have varying degrees of competence. So you need to do some careful research to find the best bariatric doctors in your area who specialize in the type of surgery you want.

Tips for Choosing Your Doctor

Here are some things to keep in mind as you conduct your research:

If you have already determined which type of procedure you want to have, you need to find a bariatric doctor who specializes in that particular procedure. You’ll have a better chance of a successful surgery if you do this.

Don’t let a specialist tell you what procedure is best. Do your own independent research. Bariatric doctors need patients just like any other business needs customers. So they will sell you on their procedure as being the best. They are biased, so you need to do some research on your own.

For example, if you go to an Ohio lap band doctor and ask about gastric bypass, you’ll probably hear all about the disadvantages of bypass and the “greatness” of the lap band approach … because he or she makes money by doing the latter. And lately, the bariatric field seems to be one of the most profit-driven in all of medicine, right up there with cosmetic surgery.

People often forget that doctors want to make money like anyone else — I think it’s the white coat and clipboard that make us forget this. Don’t let a bariatric doctor sell you on their procedure being the best. Do plenty of research and always consider the source when reading about a particular procedure.

The Internet can save you a lot of time and energy when you are looking for a bariatric doctor in your area. In fact, I don’t know of any better way to start your research. For instance, you could visit the website of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) to find doctors in your state.

When using the Internet to find a surgeon, just bear in mind that top search engine rankings do not necessarily mean that a certain doctor is the best in his or her field. For example, if you conduct a Google search for “Ohio lap band doctor,” you will be presented with a list of websites — quite a few, in fact. But the search engines do not rank websites based on the quality of the people who own them. They rank websites based on content relevance, link popularity, and other elements of search engine optimization.

Certainly, Google can save you time by presenting the websites of bariatric doctors in a certain field or geographic area. But Google rankings are not a measure of the surgeon’s quality or skill … they are only a measure of website relevance.

If you do not find a doctor in your area, be prepared to drive a little out of the way. The most important thing is to find a surgeon who is supremely qualified to perform your bariatric surgery, even if that means driving across state lines. Your health is too important to put convenience over quality care. Sometimes, the best bariatric doctors can be found right nearby. Other times, you have to drive several hours from where you live. Do whatever it takes to get the best care.

Lastly, it’s important not to be fooled by the fit, attractive models plastered all over the websites and brochures of some bariatric doctor websites. In some cases, the surgeon will show actual before-and-after photos of actual patients. But just as often, these websites show stock photos of models who have probably never weighed over 120 pounds. The “subliminal” message of course, is that you too can look like that if you let them perform your surgery. But are you really that stupid? Of course you’re not. So take this kind of shameless promotion with a grain of salt.

So there you have it — a solid plan for finding a bariatric doctor near you.

Leave a comment