Bariatric Care Center

 

You don’t have to suffer from being severely overweight any more. Providence Hospital Bariatric Care Center can help you achieve the healthy lifestyle you’ve always wanted, or reclaim the well-being you once had. At Providence Hospital Bariatric Care Center, there is hope for patients who have been unsuccessful with other weight loss methods.

The Providence Hospital Bariatric Care Center offers two methods proven to be safe and effective with many patients – gastric band surgery and gastric bypass surgery. Gastric band surgery restricts the size of the stomach while gastric bypass surgery redirects food away from most of your stomach. Both approaches are accompanied by comprehensive counseling and physician supervision before and after the procedure to ensure that your body is optimally conditioned for weight loss.

Obesity is directly linked to many life-threatening health conditions. Weight loss surgery has proven to be highly successful in addressing problems caused by:

Chronic joint pain Depression Diabetes Heart disease High blood pressure

High cholesterol Infertility Involuntary loss of urine Sleep apnea

In addition, patients who have undergone weight loss surgery enjoy increased energy, a greater interest in exercise and physical activities, and fewer absences from work due to illness.

Many insurance companies will provide coverage for bariatric surgery. We will work diligently with your provider to ensure pre-approval for your care under this program. In all cases, we strongly encourage you to consult with your insurance carrier for additional information.

Qualify for Surgery

The Bariatric Center at Providence has strict guidelines to protect patients from unnecessary surgical risks and to assure that patients lose the appropriate weight after surgery. Some of the qualifications include:

• 100 lbs. overweight or more for males
• 80 lbs. overweight or more for female
• Weighing two times your ideal body weight
• Several attempts at weight loss through non-surgical methods
• Problems which have been caused or aggravated by excessive weight
• Body Mass Index (BMI) of 35 or more
• Patients with a 35 BMI or less must have at least two serious health issues connected to obesity such as high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, etc.

We hold free seminars every month at Providence Hospital and St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Largo where the surgeon or staff member reviews the surgical procedures in detail. Please call (877) 9-YES-I-CAN to register or see our Classes and Events calendar for more detail.