Southern Oregon Bariatric Center

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Am I A Candidate?

To help you make a valid, logical and informed decision, we provide you with several resources. On our website you will find answers to many of the questions you have about weight loss surgery. We also offer seminars given by our doctors, called Bariatric Symposiums, where all the options for weight loss are thoroughly discussed. Our Bariatric Symposiums are free of charge and open to anyone who is interested.

Typically, for a person to be a candidate for surgery, all of the following criteria must be met:

You are severely obese, with a BMI of 40 or more or you have a BMI of 35 to 39.9 with serious medical conditions such as high blood cholesterol and triglycerides, hypertension, sleep apnea, Type II diabetes and other serious cardiopulmonary disorders. Click here to calculate your BMI.

You have tried other weight loss methods such as changes in eating; behavior, exercise and/or drug therapy and you are still severely obese.

You are restricted from performing routine daily activities related to work and family and your quality of life is seriously impaired due to severe obesity.

You understand the procedure as well as the risks and effects after surgery.

You are motivated to make a lifelong behavioral commitment that includes well-balanced eating and physical activities necessary to achieve the best results.

Co-morbid Conditions

There are medical conditions that are related to, or made worse by obesity. These are called co-morbidities because they are largely caused by the obesity itself and are categorized as major or life-threatening problems, and minor or more common conditions that are not as life threatening.

Major co-morbidities include the following:

Type II Diabetes
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol, etc.)
Heart Disease
Sleep Apnea Syndrome
Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome
Asthma
Pseudotumor Cerebri

Minor co-morbidities include the following:

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
Degenerative Arthritis
Depression
Urinary Incontinence
Menstrual irregularity and infertility

Morbid obesity increases the risk for a shorter life expectancy especially for individuals whose body weight exceeds twice their ideal body weight. This brings with it an increased risk of diabetes or heart attack up to seven times greater than in non-obese persons. For these people, control of their obesity may be a matter of life or death.