Bariatric Surgery Questions, Answered

We perform the full range of primary weight-loss operations: gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, SADI-S (single anastomosis duodeno-ileal bypass with sleeve gastrectomy), and the adjustable Lap-Band.

We also specialize in revision surgery, converting a previous sleeve, bypass, or band to a procedure better suited to where your body and health are now.

If you'd rather avoid an operation, we offer endoscopic options with no external incisions: the gastric balloon, which is temporary and reversible, and endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty, which reduces stomach volume from the inside. Both mean shorter recovery.

Most people qualify more easily than they expect. Four things decide it:

• Your BMI. A BMI of 35 with an obesity-related condition such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or sleep apnea, or a BMI of 40 on its own. The 2023 national guidelines allow a BMI of 30 when serious obesity-related health problems are present, though insurers adopt that threshold at different rates.
• Your age. There's no hard cutoff. Risks and benefits are weighed individually, and the ASMBS suggests an upper guide of 65. Patients under 18 belong in a dedicated adolescent program.
• Your medical history. Obesity-related conditions strengthen your case. Prior surgeries, chronic disease, some medications, and untreated mental-health conditions can complicate it. Safe surgery and safe recovery come first.
• What you've already tried. Insurers want a record of previous attempts through diet, exercise, or a medical program, showing surgery is the right next step rather than the first one.

Not sure where you land? That's what the consultation is for. We'll tell you plainly.

Seven steps, and we walk you through every one:

• Reach out. Call the office or fill out the online form.
• Attend a free information session, online or in person, to learn how the procedures and the program work and to meet the team.
• Book your consultation with Dr. El Djouzi to go over your history, your goals, and whether surgery fits.
• Insurance verification. We check your benefits at no cost, or go over self-pay options with you.
• Pre-operative evaluation. The medical, nutritional, and psychological assessments your program and insurer require.
• Surgery scheduling once approvals are in hand.
• Support after surgery, through follow-up visits, support groups, and nutrition guidance.

We accept a wide range of plans, including:

• Aetna (HMO, POS, PPO)
• Blue Care Network
• Blue Cross Blue Shield (Blue Advantage PPO, PPO, HMO)
• Cigna (HMO, POS, PPO)
• Coventry Health Plan (PPO)
• United Healthcare (Choice, HMO)
• TriCare (US military insurance)
• Medicare

Don't see your plan? We investigate coverage case by case, so ask us before assuming you're not covered.

We do it for you. Insurance verification is part of enrolling in the program and it costs you nothing. We review your benefits and tell you exactly what's covered and what isn't.

You can also start the process yourself using our insurance inquiry form. Either way, you'll know before you commit to anything.

Self-pay is available, and the pricing is fixed and transparent:

• Gastric balloon — $8,000. Includes the endoscopic insertion, six months of follow-up care, and removal. The balloon is self-pay only; no US insurer covers it.
• Gastric sleeve — $14,000 cash price.
• Gastric bypass — $23,000 cash price.

We also partner with MDsave, a third-party provider that may offer financing based on its own criteria, if you need to spread the cost over time.

Bariatric surgery is major surgery, and it carries real risk. It's also one of the safer major operations performed today when an experienced surgeon does it at an accredited center. The overall mortality rate is roughly 0.1%, comparable to gallbladder removal or hip replacement.

Short-term risks include bleeding, infection, blood clots, reactions to anesthesia, and leaks from the staple line. Longer-term, patients can face nutritional deficiencies requiring lifelong vitamin and mineral supplementation, gallstones, hernias, ulcers, or bowel obstruction.

Those risks are weighed against the risks of living with severe obesity. For eligible candidates, the evidence consistently shows the benefits, including resolution or improvement of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure and a longer life expectancy, outweigh the surgical risk.

Yes. Surgery is a tool, not a universal answer, and some conditions rule it out.

Absolute contraindications generally include severe heart failure, unstable coronary artery disease, end-stage lung disease, active cancer (unless obesity is blocking treatment), portal hypertension, active drug or alcohol abuse, and severe untreated psychiatric conditions such as active psychosis or severe depression.

Relative contraindications are conditions that raise surgical risk or complicate recovery: inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's, a realistic concern about following the post-operative plan, or medical conditions that need stabilizing first. Every patient is evaluated individually.

Yes. We respect the beliefs of every patient, including the refusal of blood transfusions.

Dr. El Djouzi has extensive experience with "bloodless" surgical technique: meticulous dissection, specialized instruments such as harmonic scalpels, and, when appropriate, medication before surgery to raise red blood cell counts.

Raise this at your first consultation so the plan can be built around it from the start.

At UChicago AdventHealth Bolingbrook Hospital, recognized as a Center of Excellence and Distinction for Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery.

You're cared for by a multidisciplinary team throughout, and the operating rooms are equipped for advanced robotic, laparoscopic, and endoscopic technique, so you get the least invasive approach your case allows.

Usually a few weeks to a couple of months. It depends on your health, your insurer's requirements, and how quickly the pre-operative testing gets done.

That window isn't paperwork for its own sake. It's when you complete pre-operative testing, nutritional counseling, psychological assessment, and sometimes medically supervised weight loss, all of which make the operation safer and the result better.

The single biggest thing you control is scheduling your testing promptly. Patients who move on it get to surgery noticeably faster, and our team stays on it with you.