Tufts Medical Center - Surgery Eligibility Criteria

Surgery Eligibility Criteria

The Weight and Wellness Center uses some of the same indicators as the National Institutes of Health. You may be a candidate for surgery if:

You have tried and failed with dieting in other organized programs
Your Body Mass Index (BMI) is 40 or greater ( More on this below).
Your BMI is between 35 and 40 and you have some of the following health problems:
You are more than 100 lbs over "ideal" weight
You are between 18 and 65 years of age
You have an absence of severe emotional or medical illness which would make surgery unnecessarily risky
You have been drug or alcohol dependent and are well into an effective treatment program with at least two years of sobriety

These are only suggested standards. We also require an individual psychological and behavioral evaluation with one of our therapists. The results of this evaluation, along with other medical, nutritional and behavioral information are then evaluated by the full clinical team before a decision is made regarding acceptance into the program.

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