Question:
Has anyone needed to lose 100 lbs or more before allowed to have surgery?
Kaiser wants me to lose 120 lbs before surgery. They want my BMI down to 60. Has this happened to anyone else? — Julie F. (posted on April 17, 2002)
April 17, 2002
Good grief! If you could lose 120 lbs. on your own you would not need the
surgery. Isn't it awful we have to fight insurance companies to get
healthy. Good luck and don't give up.
— Betty Todd
April 17, 2002
THAT IS RIDICULOUS IF YOU HAVE TO LOSE 120 LBS WHY HAVE SURGERY????? DONT
GIVE UP!!!!
— CARLA C.
April 17, 2002
OH MY GOODNESS!!! That is horrible. Can you switch insurance companies? I
have HealthNet at UCSF and after all of the pre-op requirements, I must
lose 10% of my body weight before the surgeon will even see me (and I hear
it takes awhile to see him cuz he's so booked up) Anyway-I guess i got
lucky- I should've had to lose almost 30 lbs but they ut me a break and
made it 20 :) I'm so sorry for your 120...go to another dr if at all
possible (at least for a 2nd opinion) good luck...
— Vicki B.
April 17, 2002
There are surgeons and insurance companies as well as hospitals that will
not operate on anyone over 350 lbs. It is all statistics. They believe
the odds are worse for the super morbidly obese. They forget that the odds
are worse if they do not have the surgery. For those who are considering
lawsuits because things didn't turn out as miraculous as you thought they
would, remember the more lawsuits the less surgeons and hospitals will be
willing to take on the desperate cases.
— faybay
April 18, 2002
That is outrageous. My doctor deals with people from the lightweight (300)
to the excessive (near 1000) and nobody I have known through his office
has been turned down or required to lose anything...granted losing 10% is
not the worst thing in the world but if it were that easy, none of us would
need this surgery.
— Glenn M.
April 18, 2002
I'm sorry that I don't have an answer for you. If we could honestly lose
120 lbs would we even consider the surgery? I don't really understand why
he would ask you to do that....I would wonder if he is doubting his ability
to operate on a large person and if he doesn't think he'd do a great job I
sure wouldn't give him my money.I would take the advice of the others and
get a 2nd opinion with a doctor who is dedicated to the health of obese
people and not just making his patients "perfect" surgery
candidates (if there is such a thing) to make his stats look better.
I wish you all the best in your journey
— Tina C.
April 18, 2002
Could it be that your hospital does not have a bariatric unit? These are
equiped with operating tables, beds, x-ray tables etc. that can hold much
more weight. The hospital where I had surgery will not allow the surgeon
to operate on anyone over 450 lbs. until they update their equipment.
Anyone coming into the hospital in an emergency would be treated, but
elective surgery is different. Last year I was to have a dexa-scan for
bone density, my local hospital could not do it because I weighed over 300
lbs.
— grammie5
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