Costs, risks, and personal stories about weight loss surgery.

Insurance Company Looks for Gastric Bypass Alternatives

A growing number of obese patients are looking to gastric bypass surgery for a cure.

Now that Medicare covers weight loss surgery for those patients who qualify, more and more insurance carriers are following suit.

The cost of the procedure is high, which can vary from $25,000 to $40,000 (and much more if complications set in). Therefore, it makes sense for one of the biggest health insurance companies in the country, BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York, to team up with researchers at the University at Buffalo School of Public Health to see if surgery is really the most effective treatment for morbid obesity.

This researchers hope to find an effective treatment for obesity with fewer side effects and complications than gastric bypass surgery. Some of those complications can be life threatening, which is of great concern to both insurance companies and patients. Of course, the risk of complications for any surgery is higher for obese patients, who often have additional risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

Any abdominal operation will place a great deal of stress on the body. Open wounds sometimes fail to heal, and may become infected. Additional risks that can occur from any abdominal surgery include pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, abscess, urinary tract infections, and hemorrhage. These complications may be life-threatening, and are also expensive, which give additional incentive for finding alternatives to surgery.

Many post-surgical patients also develop nutritional deficiencies unless they carefully monitor their diet and take appropriate vitamin and mineral supplements. After gastric bypass most patients also become intolerant of many foods, such red meats and dairy foods, and foods containing high amounts of sugar and fat.

In spite of the possible complications of surgery, obesity is also a life-threatening condition, and gastric bypass has been proven to resolve or reverse many of the common illnesses associated with excess weight, and the procedure may prolong the lives of those who undergo the surgery.

Is there a less invasive and less expensive alternative that works as well as gastric bypass, without the risks? That’s what the researchers at University at Buffalo School of Public Health hope to find out. In their study, four groups of 70 patients each will receive different nonsurgical treatments to manage their severe obesity.

• One group will follow a low-calorie diet with 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day, and will participate in behavioral treatment.
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• A second group will follow the same diet and behavioral therapy, but will be given medication as well.
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• A third group will follow an extremely low calorie diet of only 800 calories a day, along with participation in the behavioral treatment,
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• And the fourth group will follow this same regimen, with the addition of medication.

This five-year study will carefully monitor the health of the patients, along with the amount of weight lost or gained. At the end of the study, we will know if one of the four options studies is an effective alternative for gastric bypass surgery.

More Articles About Alternatives to Gastric Bypass Surgery:

• Very Low Calorie Diets (VLCD)
• Is a Low-Calorie Diet Safer than LAP-BAND® Surgery?