| Process | Anticipated Length of Time | Additional Information |
|---|
| 1. Referral received from your child's doctor and insurance is verified | 1 – 3 weeks | The patient and family are responsible for returning all necessary paperwork in a timely manner. Once received, then an appointment will be arranged. |
| 2. Initial evaluation with Surgical Weight Loss Program for Teens | 3 hours on 1 day (a Tuesday) with the team. ALL patients must meet with the entire team before proceeding with the next step. | Your family will meet with the surgeon, medical physician, psychologist, nurse(s), dietician, exercise physiologist, and a research coordinator during this three-hour visit. |
| 3. Family notified of team's decision to pursue surgery authorization OR explore other weight management options | The nurse will contact you 1 - 2 weeks after your initial evaluation | |
4. Initiation of "Treatment Plan" visits
The Pre-op Diet and Exercise Phase of the Program -- A critical component of the program Missed appointments, cancellations, or "no-shows" will delay your process through the program, and thereby delay surgery. | Appointments are on Thursday mornings and will occur every 3-4 weeks for 2-3 months until decision for surgery is made. Criteria that must be met at these visits: - The patient and caregiver must come to each visit as planned
- Must demonstrate that they can use weight management tools to achieve short-term weight loss
| Purpose of Treatment Plans: Patient and family will learn about calories and eating habits, receive a personalized diet and exercise plan. The patient is responsible for monitoring daily intake. This is also an opportunity for our team to teach a large amount of information over several appointments. - We believe that patients who can achieve preoperative weight loss are healthier at the time of surgery
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| 5. Insurance process of approval for surgery authorization | Weeks to months, depending on your specific insurance benefits. | This can occur simultaneously with Step 4 above. In this process, the program's doctors write to your insurance company to request authorization for surgery. Many times, more information is requested from the insurance companies to demonstrate that the surgery is medically necessary. Our goal is to most efficiently work toward this goal on your behalf. |
| 6. Scheduling Gastric Bypass Surgery | Typically a few weeks after receiving the insurance approval. | |
| 7. Clinical Research | Most of the obesity research studies can be accomplished in 1-2 days. | Cincinnati Children's is not only a world-class clinical facility but is also a highly respected research hospital. There are numerous ongoing research studies in our Program that have been funded by the National Institutes of Health and other organizations. This is an excellent opportunity for patients and families to help us better understand obesity and outcomes of weight loss surgery. Many of the studies provide compensation for the patient's time if they decide to participate. |
