New Brunswick Bariatric Surgery

Dr. Harold L. Kent is a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Here the Doctor has answered some of the common questions Bizymoms visitors have about Bariatric Surgery.


Q. What impact do medical conditions have on the decision for bariatric surgery, and how can medical problems affect risk?

A. Medical conditions do factor into the decision to have bariatric surgery. Sicker patients are at higher risk, but also have the most to gain from significant weight loss. The best way to determine whether or not you are a candidate for bariatric surgery and to get an idea of the risks and benefits is very simple:  get an appointment and come talk to me.

Q. Are there any alternative procedures in order to avoid bariatric surgery?

A. The success of non-surgical weight loss has been extensively studied. The failure rate of non-surgical weight loss—even for those patients who are initially successful—is 95 to 98% or about 19 out of 20. Read "People" magazine. Those patients they profile who lose down to an acceptable (or "ideal") body weight who are profiled two years later in the same magazine reflect this statistic—only about 1 in 20 patients can keep their weight off for as long as 2 years.

Q. Is Hospitalization Necessary Before Undergoing Bariatric Surgery?

A. Hospitalization is not usually required prior to bariatric surgery unless there is some condition that requires hospitalization to optimize health. Most of our gastric banding procedures are done on an outpatient basis and our average stay for gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy (assuming no complications) is two to three days whether the procedure is open or laparoscopic.

Q. Do you accept insurance?

A. We accept some insurance. Please contact us if you have questions. We also accept cash, qualified credit cards, and have options for financing the operation.

Q. What is the cost involved in Bariatric Surgery?

A. The laparoscopic gastric bypass is the most expensive procedure we do at about $30,000 for everything. That’s followed by the sleeve gastrectomy and then the open gastric bypass and lap band. Now, let’s turn this question around. In 2001 the Bureau of Labor Statistics Office of Consumer Expenditures did a study to determine the average annual cost of being morbidly obese. This annual cost was $15,568 and adjusting for inflation, the cost is now over $17,000. This is more than the entire cost for a gastric band procedure in our hospital, the hospital’s outpatient center and in the free standing ambulatory surgery center where we do these operations. Having bariatric surgery [statistically] lengthens life, decreases cancer risk, pays for itself within 2 to 4 years, is cheaper than remaining morbidly obese, and is the best investment that you can make on yourself.