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Weight Loss Surgery

Applying for an Appointment at Duke

Weight loss surgery is a life-changing procedure -- so before you make an appointment, we want to help you make sure that surgery is the right choice for you.

For that reason, we ask all patients interested in weight loss surgery at Duke to investigate their insurance coverage and attend a free informational seminar before applying for weight loss surgery.

More information on each of these steps is below. Click a link to navigate down the page for more information.

Step 1: Investigate Insurance Coverage

Step 2: Make an Appointment to Attend a Free Seminar

Step 3: Apply for Weight Loss Surgery at Duke

Step 1: Investigate Insurance Coverage

Before you consider weight loss surgery as an option in managing your obesity, you should contact your insurance company to verify two things:

• Weight loss surgery is covered by your policy
• Durham Regional Hospital and the physicians of the Private Diagnostic Clinic at Duke University Medical Center are part of your coverage.

Some policies exclude all types of weight loss surgery.

When you call your insurance company, they will want to know the following:

• The codes for the operative procedures:
  CPT 43644 (Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass)
  CPT 43770 (Lap-Band® Procedure)
• The diagnosis code for obesity: ICD-9 278.01

To qualify for insurance coverage, you must have a body mass index of 40 or more.

You may be eligible for the surgery If your body mass index is between 35 and 39 and you have at least one major medical problem that is aggravated by obesity, such as:

• Respiratory problems (sleep apnea or hypoventilation syndrome)
• Diabetes
• Hypertension

Using your height and weight, you can calculate your ideal body weight and body mass index online.

There are many different types of health insurance policies, and many have strict guidelines for reimbursement for weight reduction surgery. Some have co-payments that may be quite high. For patients covered by managed care programs, you must be referred to our clinic by your primary care physician.

It is very important for you to review your policy’s guidelines and referral requirements before being seen by the Weight Loss Surgery Clinic. Failure to do so may mean that you have to pay more money for the clinic visit and surgery. If you do not know if you need a referral, call your insurance company or physician to be sure.

Health care services provided by the Duke University Health System and Durham Regional Hospital are billed to your insurance carrier on your behalf.

Step 2: Make an Appointment to Attend a Free Seminar

Before you pursue weight loss surgery, it is essential that you learn as much as you can about the procedure and how it will affect your body and lifestyle. We hold a free introductory seminar at Durham Regional Hospital.

Log in to see a list of upcoming seminars.

At our seminar, you can:

• Learn about the weight-loss procedures and their typical results
• Learn about Duke’s approach to weight loss surgery
• Meet our surgical and medical staff

You can view a video of one of our previous seminars online to get an idea of what will be covered, or to review what you heard after you attend.

You should bring your spouse or other support person with you. Much of the seminar is spent discussing not only potential benefits of surgery, but also possible complications and risks of surgery. We also discuss the help you may need postoperative. The more your support person knows about this operation, the more he or she can help.

Register for one of our free seminars.

We feel it is very important that you know as much as you can before considering a surgical approach to the management of obesity. For that reason we have made attendance at one of these seminars mandatory for acceptance of your application for surgical consideration.

Step 3: Apply for Weight Loss Surgery at Duke

Once you have attended a seminar, you can apply for surgery. To apply, follow the link below to log in to our secure site. You'll need to enter details about your health history and provide a deposit.

Apply now for weight loss surgery at Duke