Bariatric surgery: Selection criteria, application, aftercare
The doctors at Helios Hospital consult the patients on the decision for or against surgery, provide with information on the application process and organize the aftercare.
What are the indications for bariatric surgery
Before you decide to undergo surgery, you should be sure, that you’ve tried all conservative, i.e. non-operative, treatment. Patient can go through a special program ObesityVital before a surgery.
When do you qualify for a bariatric surgery?
- You’re older than 15, no age limit
- Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 35 with one or two concomitant diseases, BMI from 40 without concomitant diseases
- Health disorders (diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea syndrome)
- At least 6-12 months of attempted weight loss
- No drug or alcohol abuse
- You should be willing to change eating habits for a long-term
Surgery application
You must apply to your health insurance company for cost coverage of a weight-loss surgery (gastric band, sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass). Helios Hospital staff will guide you through the application procedure, based on a scientific expert opinion. The application for cost coverage must be submitted by a patient. It should be as detailed as possible and take the following points into account:
- State your wish for a surgery clearly and provide strong arguments
- Make a list of all concomitant diseases.
- Show that you’ve already tried all nutritional, physical and behavioral treatment under medical supervision, but didn’t get the expected results
- Ask your GP or the attending physician at the Obesity Center explain that there are no medical or psychological objections to the surgery.
- Describe that you’ve intensively studied the surgical procedure (risks, pre- and post-operative care, change of diet) and that you have enough information about the self-help group or the lectures for patients.
- Attach copies of all certificates, expert assessments and attestations (psychosomatic report, internal medicine report, proof of nutritional counseling, food diary with weight history, exercise and behavioral therapy such as the patient program ObesityVital)
If your application has been rejected by the health insurance company, you have the opportunity to lodge an objection within one month. Please contact us regarding this issue.
Aftercare
Continuous, good aftercare after the surgery is important. We work in close cooperation with your doctors and monitor your nutritional status and any concomitant diseases. During the first year after the surgery, a patient undergoes routine aftercare after 2 and 6 weeks, then every three months. If the first year was proven successful, follow-up examinations take place only 2 time per year, which are coordinated with your family doctor. When you are discharged from hospital, you will receive your next follow-up appointment and a follow-up passport with the entries of all necessary follow-up examinations and the results of your laboratory tests.
