Consultation and Evaluation

All prospective patients considering gastric restrictive surgery at New Jersey Bariatrics must attend separate screening interviews with the operating surgeon and the nutritionist, each of whom will individually approve or disapprove the patient for surgery.

• Glandular (endocrine) disorder must be ruled out as the major contributing factor to morbid obesity.
  
  
• Psychological stability must occasionally be determined by the preoperative interviews and psychological tests given by the psychiatric team. There must be understanding of the risks associated with the operation and acknowledgement of the fact that the operation is not guaranteed to lead to a specified amount of weight loss in the long term.

Gallbladder Ultrasound

A blood test for H. Pylori (a bacterium which causes ulcers) and ultrasound of the gallbladder are performed following the screening interviews. The blood test is performed to rule out unexpected (occult) peptic ulcer disease. The ultrasound is performed to determine if you have gallstones. If gallstones are found, we recommend having your gallbladder removed as part of the gastric restrictive procedure.

To Operate Or Not to Operate...

In rare cases, other medical problems may make the risk of a major abdominal operation under general anesthesia too high. Usually, obesity-related medical problems are considered a strong reason to perform surgery for morbid obesity.

Reasons not to perform gastric restrictive surgery include the presence of active peptic ulcer disease or advanced cardiac (heart), pulmonary (lung) or renal (kidney) disease. Because gastric restrictive surgery is still relatively new, there is the potential for other complications to develop which have not yet been recognized.

After the results of these tests are reviewed and the results of the psychological tests and interview have been analyzed, admission to the hospital for the operation is scheduled.

Scheduling Your Consultation

If you decide to pursue weight loss surgery, please contact us. We'll schedule a consultation during which our team will determine if bariatric surgery is an appropriate option.