Weight loss surgery is major surgery and it is a serious decision, which will affect the rest of your life. Occasionally complications can occur, especially in the unprepared patient. Our goal is to minimize the risks and complications because your safety comes first!

The goal of this surgery is to dramatically improve the quality of your life, bring many of your medical problems to resolution, improve your energy levels, allow you to live a longer, happier life.

Therefore, it is of utmost importance to minimize the risks of surgery as much as possible. The entire preoperative workup is aimed at this goal.

The first step in the journey is to attend the information seminar.

The Commonwealth Weight Loss Center is proud to offer online information seminars that you can enjoy from the comfort of your home at a time that is convenient for you. In the presentation we'll review the current scientific theories of weight management and obesity. We'll provide a comprehensive overview of weight loss surgery and what to expect after surgery. The seminar is a tool that enables you to make an informed decision about your surgical intervention. Nobody forces you to have this surgery done.

Following the information seminar, the surgical consultation is the next step.

When you make your appointment for the office consultation we mail out a packet that contains the Initial Patient Assessment Questionnaire, which you may also download from here. This must be filled out as detailed as possible for the first office visit. Please complete this form at home, and do not leave this task for the waiting room time as it may significantly delay you and others and may require the re-scheduling of your appointment.
We review your medical history and weight history, discuss your personalized weight loss strategy. If, for some reason, you are not a candidate for surgery, you will be told right away.

To avoid any misunderstanding, prior to your visit read and understand the "certificate of coverage" that your insurance company is required by law to give you.

Before visiting the bariatric surgeon, organize your medical records, including your history of dieting efforts. Complete the forms we send out to you prior to your visit as detailed as possible. We must know about all your medications with dosages, all previous surgeries and medical conditions.

1. To identify potential risk factors and to proactively minimize the opertaive risks, a series of medical evaluations follows. This tipically involves consultations with a

• - clinical psychologist
• - dietician
• - cardiologist
• - pulmonologist
  
• Based on their evaluation, further tests may be ordered, such as pulmonary function test, sleep study, stress test, echocardiogram or cardiac catheterization. Certain elements in your history may warrant consultations with an
• endocrinologist
• gastroenterologist
• occasionally a hematologist

2. An upper GI barium swallow is checked along with a set of laboratory values that also include testing for active smoking.

You may require preoperative vitamin D, iron, thiamine replacement.

3. Certain insurance policies require participation in a medically supervised weight management program for a certain period of time before they cover the surgical procedure. You have to check this with your insurance provider.

4. Once all the tests are done and all the consultants provide you a clearance, a final consultation will take place, when we review the test results, and finalize the plan for bariatric surgery.

The average timeframe for all this is tipically 3-6 months. If you are a smoker, you should be off cigarettes completely for 3 months before we can proceed with the operation with the understanding that you may not resume smoking after surgery, otherwise life-threatening complications may develop.