Getting Ready for Weight Loss Surgery
Preparation for weight loss surgery takes several steps. Along with deciding on which bariatric surgery to get, you will choose a surgeon and a facility for your surgery, likely an ASMBS Center of Excellence. You may end up going abroad for your surgery. You will meet the other healthcare team members, such as a dietitian or nutritionist, a mental health professional and nurses who specialize in bariatric patient care.
You will figure out whether your insurance covers the procedure you chose and how to get your pre-approval for reimbursement from your healthcare coverage company. If you're self-pay, you may need to look into medical financing.
Your surgeon will order some medical tests to make sure that you are a good candidate for surgery. You might have a mental health exam with the clinical psychologist to make sure that you're emotionally prepared for surgery and committed to the lifestyle changes that weight loss success requires. You may also meet with the dietitian to learn about a pre-surgery diet, the post-surgery recovery diet and the long-term bariatric surgery diet that you'll be following for years.