Lower Weight Qualifies for Lap-Band Surgery
New FDA Announcement
In February of 2011, and after a long wait by patients and bariatric surgeons alike, the FDA finally announced that it has expanded the criteria for qualifying for Lap-Band surgery, to include lower weight patients. According to the new guidelines, the BMI that medically qualifies a patient for band surgery has decreased from 35 to 30. The same caveat applies with respect to weight related medical problems: patients with a BMI between 30 and 40 will qualify if they have weight related medical problems. The patients with a BMI of 40 or more still qualify based on their BMI alone.
Enter your height and weight below to determine your BMI:
To qualify for gastric banding surgery, you must fall into one of two categories:
- BMI of 40 Kg/M2, or higher.
- BMI of 30 Kg/M2 or higher, with at least one obesity related medical problem such as High Blood Pressure, Type II Diabetes, Sleep Apnea, severe cases of Arthritis, Acid Reflux Disease, Low Back and Joint Pain.
