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Should You Recommend Surgery?

When considering whether to recommend surgery to your severely obese patients, keep the following things in mind:

In order to qualify for surgery, your patient must have a BMI ≥ 40, or ≥ 35 with one or more severe comorbid conditions.
Due to the increased risk of obesity-related comorbidity and mortality, surgery is recommended for severely obese patients who do not achieve a significant weight reduction with therapeutic lifestyle changes or pharmacotherapy.⁸ If your patient made attempts to lose weight before and failed, surgery may be the answer.
Your patient will need to be able to commit to completely changing their lifestyle. They will require counseling support for the rest of their lives to ensure healthy weight loss and healthy living.
Currently, most bariatric procedures are performed laparoscopically. This approach has the advantages of fewer wound complications, less postoperative pain, a shorter hospital stay, and more rapid postoperative recovery with comparable efficacy.^{6, 8}
As with any surgery, there are associated risks and you need to explain these to your patients who are considering bariatric surgery.

Discuss LAP-BAND^® System surgery with your severely obese patients and explain when it should be considered as an adjunctive therapy with lifestyle modification. Your patients will make the ultimate decision but you can advise them as to whether bariatric surgery may be a good fit and use the surgeon locator to direct them to a qualified local Bariatric surgeon. Allergan provides you with educational material which you can download or order, including practical advice for physicians treating severely obese individuals.

Reference

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