If your insurance does not cover bariatric surgery, we do offer competitive self-pay options. Select the Pathway To Surgery tab at the top of the opening web page and choose Self-Pay in the drop down menu. If you are interested in self-pay, you must fill out a new patient form located via the BLUE New Patient Form tab at the top of every webpage on cmcwls.com, and an Insurance Specialist will contact you via email. You will also need to view an online informational seminar. You can register by selecting the RED Webinar Registration tab at the top of every webpage on our website.

Our comprehensive program strictly adheres to the National Institutes of Health guidelines for criteria for bariatric surgery. Each patient must examine their own insurance policy to determine if benefits are available for obesity surgery. After you have filled out and submitted the new patient forms that are located via the BLUE New Patient Form tab at the top of every webpage on cmcwls.com, an Insurance Specialist will verify your insurance benefits and contact you via email regarding coverage and next steps.

To quality for surgery patients must have a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 40. Patients with a BMI of 35-39 must also have a diagnosed co-morbidity such as hypertension, diabetes or sleep apnea, to name a few. To find out your BMI, under the tab: Pathway To Surgery, select “Am I A Candidate / Calculate Your BMI” from the dropdown menu and follow the instructions.

If your insurance does not cover bariatric surgery, we do offer competitive self-pay options. Select the Pathway To Surgery tab at the top of the opening web page and choose Self-Pay in the drop down menu. If you are interested in self-pay, you must fill out a new patient form located via the BLUE New Patient Form tab at the top of every webpage on cmcwls.com, and an Insurance Specialist will contact you via email. You will also need to view an online informational seminar. You can register by selecting the RED Webinar Registration tab at the top of every webpage on our website.

We believe after researching on their own and attending a seminar, most patients have an idea of which procedure will work best for them. Some individuals are not comfortable with the idea of a foreign body being placed, so they know they prefer not to have a band. Some individuals are not comfortable with having a portion of their intestine bypassed, so they choose not to have a bypass. A procedure, called vertical sleeve gastrectomy, may represent the best of both worlds for patients who want restriction but without the need for multiple adjustments as with a gastric band

The answer is it depends. The decision to place a drain during surgery is made by the individual surgeon. If you do have a drain placed at the time of surgery, it will be removed at your first follow up appointment. While some may view having a drain as an inconvenience, it is generally not painful. If needed, the nurses will show you how to empty the drain and change the dressing prior to going home.

Eating to many carbohydrates (rice, bread, pasta) or simple sugars (such as sugar, honey, and corn syrup) or high-fat foods can cause dumping syndrome in patients who have had gastric bypass surgery. This occurs when these products, which have a small particle size, are “dumped” from the stomach into the intestine at a rapid rate. Water is pulled into the intestine from the bloodstream to dilute the sugar load and excess insulin is released to process the sugar. This causes symptoms that can include rapid heart rate, hot flashes or sweating and clammy skin, and feeling dizzy or light-headed. Dumping syndrome will resolve on its own in 30 minutes to an hour.

You are usually able to return to work within a couple of weeks of surgery. If you have a more physical job, then you may need to be off as long as 4-6 weeks.

Discharge from the hospital is individualized to how you are doing. In general, our gastric band patients go home the day of surgery.
Sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass patients will go home within two to three days of surgery.
Duodenal switch patients will go home within three to four days of surgery.

You may shower within a couple of days of surgery; however, we prefer you do not take a tub bath or get in the pool until your incisions have healed and any drain sites have closed. This is usually after your one week follow up visit.

You may resume driving once you have been off all narcotic pain medication for 24 hours. Keep in mind that for the first week or so after surgery, you may still feel pretty sore across the abdomen and that may impede your ability to brake quickly or suddenly.

After laparoscopic surgery, you are typically able to return to your normal activities within two weeks; prior to that time, we recommend you do not lift more than twenty pounds.

Yes. We offer pre-op/preparation for surgery classes with the dietitian and nurse that all of our patients attend prior to surgery. This will be scheduled by your surgeon’s office and is FREE for all Centennial Center for the Treatment of Obesity Patients.

The answer to this question varies. Some insurance programs require that you follow a medically supervised program for 3 months, 6 months or 1 year prior to surgery. Sometimes your surgeon may recommend weight loss prior to surgery.

Yes. The requirements for this vary from 2-14 days. Your surgeon will give you pre-op liquid diet instructions.

Yes. We recommend taking a complete multi-vitamin with minerals and a calcium supplement. Remember to follow your anesthesiologist rules prior to surgery as to when to stop taking any medicine or vitamins. We recommend discontinuing your multi-vitamin and or vitamin E two weeks prior to surgery. You will need to take additional supplements after surgery. Your surgeon and dietitian will review all of these recommendations at your pre-op consult.

You will receive an owner’s manual at your consult with the surgeon. The nutritional guidelines section has suggestions on where the appropriate items you will need following surgery can be purchased. Our program does offer the Bariatric Advantage line of vitamins and supplements both onsite and online.

Possibly. The amount of hair loss or thinning varies with each patient. Hair loss during weight loss is can be related to protein intake, this is another important reason to meet your protein needs of a minimum 60-80 grams per day. Hair loss generally occurs 3-9 months after surgery and starts to come back around 1 year after surgery or when your weight loss slows down. Remember this is temporary! The best defense is adequate protein intake.

Net carbs are calculated by taking total carbohydrate grams and subtracting those from fiber and sugar alcohols. Counting net carbs is based on the premise that certain carbohydrates contribute to increased blood sugar levels, while others do not. There are 2 kcal/gm sugar alcohol versus zero calories in artificial sweeteners like Splenda, Equal, and Sweet n low. We always recommend counting total carbohydrates.

If you are in the weight loss phase, you are allowed 5 grams total carbohydrates per meal. Weight management must be individualized. Please speak with your registered dietitian and surgeon for recommendations.

Yes. You have to take chewable, liquid, or crushable forms. Also all gel caps need to be pierced or capsules need to be opened. Swallowing pills whole could potentially cause them to get stuck or cause ulcers.

We recommend calcium citrate. Calcium citrate is easily absorbed because it does not require an acidic environment. This makes it highly absorbable for bariatric surgery patients.

The first thing you should do upon hitting a plateau is try to determine the cause. Sometimes it is easy to overestimate daily calorie intake. We recommend keeping a food journal, increase activity as tolerated, increase protein, increase fluids and follow up with your registered dietitian.

The minimum amount is 64 ounces per day. Non-caffeine, sugar-free, calorie free non-carbonated beverages can count.

You should start walking as soon as you get home from the hospital. Several times a day you should get up and walk around the house or yard for 5 to 10 minutes, or as much as you can tolerate. Every day you will need to increase how far, how often or how long you walk on a daily basis.

The best thing you can do before surgery is to start a regular exercise program. You want to set aside time up to 5 to 6 days a week and walk, bike, swim, or do aerobics for as long as you can tolerate. For some people it may be up to an hour, for some it may be 5 to 10 minutes. Establishing the habit is important, and the more you can do before surgery the easier it will be to continue after surgery. The primary goal before surgery is to move more; however much you move today, do more tomorrow and more the next day and more the next.

4 to 6 weeks after surgery you can start a light weight training program. Start slowly with 1 set of 10 to 15 repetitions and gradually work up to 3 to 5 sets.

The best toning exercise is strength training. You can use machine weights, free weights (dumbbells), or resistance bands for your program. Strength training helps tone muscles, give skin more elasticity, and raise your metabolism to aid in your weight loss.

Personal trainers are great for motivation, accountability, and direction. If you have never worked out at a gym or are new to strength training, a personal trainer is a great investment. You can take advantage of a personal trainer with most new gym memberships and have someone show you how to set and use all of the fitness equipment in one free session that comes with joining the gym.

Arthritis in the knees, hips, back, and ankles can limit what you can do for exercise; however it does not mean you can’t exercise at all. You can try swimming or water aerobics which are both no impact exercises. If you are not comfortable in the pool, or do not have access to a pool year round you can try an exercise bike (I recommend a recumbent bike) or elliptical. Both of these are no impact exercises that you can do either with home equipment or with a gym membership. Additionally, exercise bands are available for approximately $10.00 – $12.00 at many discount stores and supercenters and can be used in your living room. A true beginner program may be as basic as chair exercises, for example, holding a sixteen ounce bottle of water or canned vegetables in each hand and lifting your hands up over your head 10 – 12 times. Our exercise physiologist can help you develop a program that fits your needs.

Yes, strength training may help with your excess skin after surgery. However, since there are so many variables in excess skin and how much there will be, there is no guarantee that strength training will be as effective as plastic surgery. What strength training does is firm up and tone your muscle under the loose skin, which will help with the appearance of sagging skin. Exercise will also help maintain healthy blood flow to the skin which will help some with elasticity. Time is also necessary in judging how much excess skin you will have. Moisturizing will help some, as well as staying well hydrated. But keep in mind that the results will not be the same as someone who has had plastic surgery.

This evaluation is recommended for all patients by the National Institute of Health, most surgeons, and most insurance companies. While 25% of Americans suffer from clinical levels of depression, approximately 90% of appropriate candidates for weight loss surgery report significant depression. We often make suggestions to help you through this process and have greater success post-operatively.

You will be at our office between two and four hours, so dress comfortable and bring reading glasses if needed. The evaluation includes a structured interview by a psychologist and several pencil and paper tests.

We can usually schedule an appointment for you within a couple of days and the results are sent to your surgeon’s office in less than one week’s time after your evaluation.

A comprehensive bariatric program will consist of a combination of the following healthcare professionals: a program coordinator, psychologist, dietitian, exercise physiologist, and other healthcare professionals. Each expert is dedicated to providing support for bariatric patients both before and after surgery.

Support groups give patients an excellent opportunity to talk about personal issues. Most patients learn, for example, that bariatric surgery will not resolve personal relationship issues. Most bariatric surgeons will tell you that ongoing support after surgery helps to achieve the greatest level of success for their patients. Patients help keep each other motivated, celebrate small victories together, and provide perspective on the everyday successes and challenges that patients generally experience. Centennial offers many support group options including both patient led and professional led groups.

There is no direct evidence that weight loss surgery can cause any particular psychological conditions. However, social and emotional problems that exist prior to surgery are clearly not removed by surgery. If food is a way of coping, then you may struggle when that coping mechanism is removed. This highlights the importance of attendance at support groups and the Psychological Support Program.