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