is it possible to get bariatric surgery over 500 lbs?

 I would like to know if anyone has had any of the surgeries weighing over 500 lbs?   i have seen several Dr's and none seem to have any interest in even discussing the options.

Dr Nowzaradan In Houston Texas does the RNY on patients weighing over 500lbs 

You have to do research in your area on surgeon's that handle people who have high BMI's.  My husband has to travel almost 2 hours because no one in our immediate area handles people over certain BMI's.  It's hard but really worth it because you definitely want someone experienced in surgery with larger people.

In short, yes.

Your obstacles -

1. Finding a surgeon willing to do it. This may also entail a pretty "severe" pre-op diet like medifast. Most surgeons are going to want to see a strong commitment from you in terms of losing some weight on your own beforehand.

2. Your health. Granted your health at 500lbs isn't going to be good no matter what, but there are different levels of bad. You can expect a lot of pre-op testing to make sure you are healthy enough to survive surgery

3. It would be unlikely that you will find a surgeon who is willing to do it laparoscopically at your current weight so you should expect an open surgery.

4. The hospital must have equipment that can support you and a staff that can manage you.

You should be very picky looking for your surgeon and find someone with experience. Don't be afraid to ask them how many patients of your stature they've handled and what their outcomes were. This is your life you are potentially risking, so my biggest advice would be to do your research.

I was 440lbs at 5' tall so my BMI was 83. That is very high and I managed to find an experienced surgeon and have my procedure laparoscopically BUT I had to lose 40lbs on my own first to show commitment and to make the surgery possible laparoscopically. I don't know how tall you are or your BMI (or how you carry your weight, which makes a big difference) but I would anticipate that your major hurdle is just going to be finding someone who has the experience. You may need to travel a little to find him or her.

All the best!

I agree with the others make sure they are experienced.
I weighed 526 when i found a surgeon and 509 the day od surgery being that big i knew there where extra risks.
Do some research and go to a couple of seminars and i did that the first doctor was a definate no ,but the second one was straight forward with me and told me the way it was .
He is in kentucky though a little far to travel.
Most on your state board also maybe someone on there could help.
Good luck

Hi if you don't mind me asking which surgeon and where in Ky done your surgery? I'm 5'10 and weight 460..thank you so much

You may want to post in the state forum asking if anyone has had surgery at over 500 lbs and which surgeon they used. Also consider posting in the states around you like Oklahoma and Missouri. It may be a bit further of a drive, etc. But where there is a will, there is a way!! and once you find a surgeon who is willing to do it, maybe they can work with your PCP to order tests, etc closer to your home.

Good luck!!!

You`ve already gotten some great advice. I just want to add that with so much to loose, make sure to inform yourself about ALL surgery types to decide which is best for you. There is not just the RNY and the lapband, but also the sleeve (VSG) and the duodenal switch (short DS). People with a BMI of 50+ tend to do worse with all surgeries so it`s really important that you choose the one that fits your needs best. The surgery type which offers the greatest weight loss and the lowest regain is not the RNY, but the DS, while the RNY has a pretty high failure rate and regain at serveral years out is common (an article recently posted on the revision board stated a failure rate of 40-60% for patients with a BMI of more then 50 - failure is loosing less then 50% of the excess weight). That doesn`t mean that there aren`t many people who have been highly sucessful with the RNY, certainly!

 Please post this same question on the Duodenal Switch Forum. That will most likely be your best bet not only to get the surgery but to get the results you want. It is possible that the doctor will require some weight loss before hand, mine did, but they will work with you. 

i started out weighing 615lbs but after being on the nurtionist diet i am down to 484 lbs but am sched in apr for gastric sleeve surgery and my surgeon has done pts as large as 650lbs it is Dr Castro at Methodist in Dallas