About Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence

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The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) is the largest society for this specialty in the world.

The Centers of Excellence program was developed by the ASMBS as a guide to assist patients in choosing an experienced surgeon and hospital program. Clinical evidence shows that the most experienced and best-run bariatric surgery programs have the lowest rates of complications and consistently produce the best short and long term results.

To earn a Center of Excellence (COE) designation, a hospital or program must undergo a series of site inspections during which all aspects of the program's surgical processes are closely examined and data on surgical outcomes is collected. The application process to become an ASBS Center of Excellence is one of the most rigorous in the country.

Bariatric surgery relies on the coordinated efforts of a team including nutritionists, psychologists, nurses, a compassionate office staff, and host of others. It involves a hospital making a long-term commitment to the care of the morbidly obese with strong support from the highest levels of its administration. It involves a surgeon who devotes majority of his or her practice to the surgical treatment of morbid obesity, not someone who performs just a few bariatric procedures per year.

An increasing number of health insurance plans in addition to Medicare and Medicaid will only provide coverage for a bariatric procedure if the surgery is performed at an ASMBS Center of Excellence.

Excellence is also about obtaining information that can be used to set higher standards and generate information that can save lives. Centers of Excellence are unified in their quest to deliver bariatric surgery safely, efficiently and most effectively. The ASMBS Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence is the gold standard upon which the patient can rely.

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Morbid Obesity A condition in which the Body Mass Index is 40.0–49.9, which is roughly equal to 100 pounds or more over ideal body weight; a weight level that is life-threatening. A BMI greater than 50 is termed as "super obese." CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE JOURNEY BMI CALCULATOR!

Bariatrics The branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity. The term bariatrics was created around 1965, from the Greek root baro ("weight," as in barometer), suffix -iatr ("treatment," as in pediatrics), and suffix -ic ("pertaining to"). Besides the pharmacotherapy of obesity, it is concerned with obesity surgery.

Obesity Obesity results from the excessive accumulation of fat that exceeds the body's skeletal and physical standards. Obesity has been defined as a weight more than 20% above what is considered normal according to standard age, height, and weight tables, or by a complex formula known as the body mass index. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an increase in 20 percent or more above your ideal body weight is the point at which excess weight becomes a health risk. CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE JOURNEY BMI CALCULATOR!

Center of Excellence A Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence is a bariatric program that has been designated a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence (COE) by the Surgical Review Corporation, a nonprofit corporation that: Establishes guidelines for assessing bariatric programs Evaluates bariatric programs to ensure they meet certain standards for recognition as a COE A bariatric program that has been designated a COE has met strict criteria and delivers bariatric care that meets high standards. Read more about Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence...

Metabolism All of the processes that occur in the body that turn the food you eat into energy your body can use. Exercise, food, and environmental temperature influence metabolism.