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Who is a Proper Candidate for Gastric Bypass Surgery?

Not everyone who wants gastric bypass surgery is a proper candidate. Gastric bypass surgery is a "last resort" treatment only for those who are morbidly obese and otherwise qualify. Performing the procedure on a person who is not a proper candidate is medical malpractice.

 

Gastric Bypass Surgery Malpractice

Who is a Proper Candidate for Gastric Bypass Surgery?

For most types of surgery, a doctor first diagnoses an illness, injury, or disorder, and then recommends a specific surgery to treat the injury, illness, or disorder with which the patient was diagnosed.

For example, a patient goes to the doctor with a sore throat and a fever. The doctor examines the patient and diagnoses the patient as having tonsillitis (swollen tonsils). The doctor informs the patient of the diagnosis and recommends the patient undergo a tonsillectomy (surgery to remove the tonsils). The patient accepts the doctor’s recommendation and has their tonsils surgically removed. The diagnosis of the problem and the recommendation as to what to do about it both were made by the doctor, not the patient.

Gastric bypass surgery is different. Many times, a prospective patient first will decide that he or she wants gastric bypass surgery, and then try to find a surgeon to do the surgery. In addition, many of the surgeons who perform gastric bypass surgery have sophisticated marketing campaigns to attract new patients. Gastric bypass surgery advertisements, seminars, brochures, and web sites have become commonplace. The surgeons brag about their successes and include alluring testimonials from former patients raving about gastric bypass surgery as the “miracle prescription” for quick and massive weight loss.

Gastric bypass surgery is a surgery of last resort only for those people who are morbidly obese. Gastric bypass surgery is a technically very difficult operation to perform. In addition, by its nature, it should be performed only on the morbidly obese, a very high risk patient population. Morbidly obese patients do not tolerate mistakes or complications very well at all.

However, not everyone who wants gastric bypass surgery is a proper candidate for gastric bypass surgery. To be a proper candidate for gastric bypass surgery, a person first should be:

1. 100 pounds over his or her ideal weight; or

2. have a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 40; or

3. have a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 35 if the patient has significant obesity-related health problems.

Then, it must be determined that the candidate for gastric bypass surgery not have any other medical condition (such as severe high blood pressure or heart disease) that would increase the risk of injury or death during or after gastric bypass surgery is performed to an unacceptably high level.

Today, it is becoming increasingly common practice among responsible bariatric surgeons to require psychological screening of candidates for gastric bypass surgery. The purpose of the psychological screening is make sure that the candidate for gastric bypass surgery is likely to be able to deal with the huge lifestyle changes that are required for gastric bypass surgery to be successful and result in the needed weight loss. Many of the best bariatric surgeons believe strongly that requiring psychological screening of all candidates for gastric bypass surgery is the accepted standard of care. In addition, many of the best bariatric surgeons believe and that it is the absolute duty of every bariatric surgeon to require every candidate for gastric bypass surgery to undergo psychological screening.

 

Gastric Bypass Surgery Malpractice

Table of Contents

(click on link to be taken to page)

What is Gastric Bypass Surgery?

Medical Problems Caused by Morbid Obesity

Treatment for Morbid Obesity

Who is a Proper Candidate for Gastric Bypass Surgery?

Most Common Major Complications of Gastric Bypass Surgery

Leakage of Gastric Fluid

Pulmonary Embolism

Most Common Causes of Gastric Bypass Surgery Malpractice

Inexperience of the Surgeon Performing Gastric Bypass Surgery

Gastric Bypass Surgery Performed on Patient Who is Not a Proper Candidate

Failure to Timely Diagnose and Properly Treat Leakage of Gastric Fluid

Failure to Timely Diagnose and Properly Treat Pulmonary Embolism

Failure to Timely Diagnose and Properly Treat Gastric Bleed

 

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