Weight Loss Surgery Information

Insurance coverage for bariatric surgery is a hot topic among those considering surgery for weight loss. The reasons why are obvious. With surgery costs ranging from $10,000 - $40,000 (depending on the type of surgery selected), bariatric insurance coverage is a big deal.

Good News About Bariatric Surgery Insurance

As bariatric surgery grows in popularity and usage, there is an increasing demand for insurance coverage (coming from patients and doctors alike). In response to this, more insurance companies are beginning to offer coverage for bariatric surgery than ever before.

Bad News About Bariatric Insurance

Of course, with that being said, there are quite a few insurance companies who still do not cover bariatric surgery — or, if they do, they make it hard to obtain such coverage by imposing detailed restrictions).

Fortunately, this is an easy question to answer. All you have to do is ask your insurance provider if they cover the type of bariatric procedure that you’re considering. When you are absolutely certain you’ll have coverage for your surgery, you can move on to the other 20 questions about bariatric weight-loss surgery.

Posted by admin | Add Your Comments

Bariatric surgical procedures can be classified as either malabsorptive, restrictive, or a combination of the two. If you are considering surgery for weight loss, it’s important to understand these terms because they will affect your health and lifestyle long after your weight loss surgery.

Restrictive vs. Malabsorptive Surgery

• Restrictive weight loss surgery — A restrictive procedure reduces food consumption (and by extension the patient’s weight) by reducing the size of the stomach. This is achieved by dividing the stomach into a small upper pouch and a larger lower portion.
• Malabsorptive weight loss surgery — A malabsorptive procedure alters your digestion process by limiting the absorption of calories. As a result, it can also lead to the incomplete absorption of certain vitamins and minerals from your food.
• Combination surgery — Certain types of weight loss surgery (such as the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass) are both restrictive and malabsorptive. The Roux-en-Y segments the stomach while also reshaping the intestines, thus it combines both concepts into one surgery.

Here’s what you should take away from this. Malabsorptive and restrictive surgeries both have their advantages and disadvantages. Thus, they will affect your long-term health in different ways. So when researching the subject of weight loss surgery, you must consider these two concepts and the effects associated with them.

Posted by admin | Add Your Comments

When considering surgery for weight loss, it’s crucial that you “think ahead” in terms of long-term affects and lifestyle changes.

Many people perceive surgery as a “quick-fix” approach for easy weight loss. But if you talk to someone who has undergone surgery for weight loss in the past, they will probably tell you this is not the case.

Surgery for weight loss (like any other form of surgery) is a life-changing event that requires serious consideration. After all, you are physically altering your stomach’s capacity for food and, in some cases, your digestive process overall. These are serious alterations that will follow you for life.

So before deciding whether or not surgery for weight loss is a good option for you, be sure to learn about the long-term affects of the particular type of surgery you are considering (banding, gastric bypass, etc.).

These days, there are many web forums and blogs online that are managed and/or frequented by people who have undergone surgery for weight loss in the past. This is a great source for obtaining real-life input from those who have “been there and done that.” By gathering information from previous patients of bariatric surgery, you will be able to make a more informed decision about your own surgery.

Posted by admin | Add Your Comments

If you are considering weight loss surgery, you owe it to yourself to conduct as much research as possible before making your final decision. After all, weight loss surgery is like any other form of surgery in that there are potential risks and complications associated with it. Thus it requires careful consideration, research and planning.

We hope to make that research easier for you by providing a wealth of weight loss surgery information for your review. In fact, that’s the entire purpose of this website — to provide you with the weight loss surgery information and resources needed to make a smarter decision.

With that being said, you should continue your research beyond this website. For your convenience, we have compiled and organized some of our weight loss surgery information below. But don’t stop there. Read a book or two on this subject. Join a forum and learn from others who have had surgery. Read some of the governmental studies on weight loss surgery for an unbiased perspective. In other words, learn as much as you can, and from as many sources as possible.

Weight Loss Surgery Information on Our Site

Here’s a “short list” of some of the informational resources we offer on this website.

Glossary of Bariatric
Before tackling all of the weight loss surgery information available online, it’s a good idea to start with the terminology. Our bariatric glossary will help you understand the terms you will likely encounter when researching weight loss surgery.

Bariatric Surgery Quiz
Our quiz will “channel” you through a series of questions you should ask yourself before deciding on bariatric surgery for weight loss. This quiz is full of information on weight loss surgery. So even if you know the answer to each question, you may wish to click the “Learn about it” button for additional information on each topic.

Types of Weight Loss Surgery
This article does a good job of explaining the most popular types of weight loss surgery. It also links to additional information and resources on each type of surgery, for your further research.

Bariatric Resource Center
We are constantly adding useful books, articles and websites to our Resource Center. Our goal is to eventually make it one of the largest and most useful collections of weight loss surgery information and resources.

Posted by admin | Add Your Comments

We’ve just posted a new article in the Articles section of the website to explain the common types of bariatric surgery that are available today.

Please note that this article is not meant to be an all-inclusive look at bariatric weight-loss surgery. Instead, it covers the common types of surgery and provides a “jump-off” point for further research on each subject.

Read the article here:
Types of Bariatric Surgery

Posted by admin | Add Your Comments