Guidelines

• Communication Access. You must have a reliable E-mail address that can accept "attachments" and that is not associated with you place of employment. It must be a personal email address.

• Preoperative Screening Information. You must complete the online  patient information form.

• Age between 18 and 55. Rare exceptions are made to very well motivated, very well informed patients who have the strong support of their families and their physicians.
  
  
• A BMI of 40 kg/m2 or above, or a BMI of 35 to 40 kg/m2 with comorbidity. A good rule of thumb is a body weight of over 100 lbs above your ideal body weight. A body weight no more than 350 lbs.

• Patients must presently be working, either in or out of the home. Patients who are students or housewives can meet these guidelines if they are mobile and able to be active. Disabled and wheelchair patients are generally not good candidates for the surgery.

• No history of previous obesity surgery. We do not accept patients who have had previous vertical banded gastroplasty, "stomach stapling," Roux-en-Y or other types of previous weight loss surgery. We do not accept patients for revision of other types of weight loss surgery.

• No history of major abdominal surgery. Some operations such as appendectomy, gallbladder removal, hysterectomy and a few other operations may be acceptable. \

• No history of alcohol abuse or drug use.

• The patient must show evidence of a strong, supportive and stable family structure and have the documented support of his or her immediate family.

• The patient must have a supportive personal physician (family practice or internal medicine) who will:
   a) Support the patient’s desire to undergo Laparoscopic Mini-Gastric Bypass.
   b) Perform a detailed, and complete preoperative evaluation.
   c) Agree to be actively involved in your postoperative follow-up medical care.

• No history of major psychiatric illness.
  If the patient has had depression, the patient and his/her psychiatrist must have a plan in place for the diagnosis and management of depression postoperatively.

• No history of: 
   a) Recent prednisone therapy for any reason
   b) Systemic Lupus Erythematosis (SLE)
   c) Rheumatoid arthritis d) Other collagen vascular disease

• Documented commitment to participate in a postoperative exercise program.

• Evidence that the patient can work with medical team by following directions and communicating in a timely manner.

• Documented commitment to maintain the initial postoperative and yearly long-term follow-up with your surgeon to decrease the risks of complications such as ulcers or vitamin, mineral and other nutritional deficiencies.

• Dr. Hargroder does not accept insurance for the Mini-Gastric Bypass procedure. You must have appropriate financial resources to cope with the costs associated with the surgery itself as well as potential complications associated with the surgery.
  
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Like all major surgeries, the Mini-Gastric Bypass procedure has both risks and benefits.

It is up to you, your family, your primary care physician and your surgeon to decide if it is the right solution for you.

Not all patients are candidates for the MGB. The information in this section and in the Getting Started section may help in that decision-making process.