Am I Eligible for Revision Surgery?

Our guidelines for patient selection are broadly in line with those published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

Where they differ, it is because the financial pressures that apply in the NHS do not apply with patients who are privately funding their procedure. Where the NHS is concerned, the ‘national health benefit’ of surgery needs to be balanced with the cost. When patients fund their procedure themselves, the cost balance doesn’t apply. This is why the BMI criteria that apply in the NHS will be higher than those that apply when a patient opts for a private procedure. You are eligible for revision surgery with us when:

• You have a body mass index in excess of 35 (this limit may be reduced for those with type 2 diabetes and those with Asian/African ethnicity – due to increased Diabetes risk), you have attempted to work with your primary weight loss procedure and you are gaining weight, or
• You have a body mass index above 30 and you are experiencing a complication with your primary procedure that necessitates surgical revision for safety reasons.

Before considering surgery for anyone we would need to establish that you have made every effort to succeed with your primary procedure and that the potential to get this procedure working without the need for more surgery has been exhausted. This is most common for gastric band patients. We occasionally find that incorrect adjustment of the gastric band, or poor aftercare, was the reason for failure. The band or access port may also be leaking given the impression of failure, when in fact the problem is mechanical (and not with the patient). In cases like this we would always attempt to get the band working as it should before undertaking more surgery.

When discussing the prospects of revision surgery with you, we are motivated by 3 things:

1. Your safety and wellbeing – that your procedure can and will be undertaken safely,
2. Your weight loss success – that you can expect to lose weight with the revision procedure, and
3. That the procedure will deliver the health benefits sought. This is particularly important for people already living with weight-related health problems.

If you are eligible, based on the criteria above, it’s time to discuss your circumstances in more detail.

Please call us on 0800 313 4618 to speak to one of our experts today.