Glandular (endocrine) disorder must be ruled out as the major contributing factor to morbid obesity. The surgeon will evaluate for these disorders during the initial visit.

Psychological stability must be determined by pre-operative interviews and psychological tests given by the psychologist. There must be understanding of the risks associated with the operation and acknowledgement of the fact that the operation is not guaranteed to lead to a specified amount of weight loss in the long term.

In rare cases, other medical problems may make the risk of a major abdominal operation under general anesthesia too high. Usually, obesity-related medical problems are considered an indication to perform surgery for morbid obesity.

Reasons not to perform gastric restrictive surgery include the presence of active peptic ulcer disease or advanced cardiac (heart), pulmonary (lung) or renal (kidney) disease.

A blood test for H. Pylori (a bacteria which causes ulcers) and ultrasound of the gallbladder are performed following the screening interviews. The blood test is performed to rule out unexpected (occult) peptic ulcer disease. The ultrasound is performed to determine if you have gallstones. If gallstones are found, we recommend having your gallbladder removed as part of the gastric restrictive procedure. After the results of these tests are reviewed and the results of the psychological tests and interview have been analyzed, admission to the hospital for the operation is scheduled.