What are the most important things to know about a surgeon and a hospital prior to selecting one to perform my surgery?

Experience, commitment, and collaboration are critical. Because of the many health problems that obesity surgery patients have, most of the procedures are considered 'high risk.' The surgeon's experience is, therefore, crucial. You should ask your surgeon how many laparoscopic obesity operations he or she has performed. You should ask your surgeon how they trained to perform laparoscopic weight loss surgery. There have been several studies which have shown that at minimum, the learning curve for performing laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is 75-100 cases. Another determining factor is the knowledge of your care team about weight loss surgery and collaboration among specialties. Weight loss surgery isn't just about losing weight. We believe that successful outcomes are best achieved if patients are educated by a multidisciplinary team, including nursing, dieticians and psychologists. The University of Minnesota Weight Loss Surgery Center was named a Center of Excellence by the Amer ... more