Age Limit for Gastric Sleeve Surgery

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If you’re not qualified for sleeve surgery

Since gastric sleeve surgery is often successful to help morbidly obese adults, there are several ways for financing the operation. The most recommended one is with insurance. Although getting insurance approval is not always easy, it will help you a lot to reduce the cost. For more guidance, see also ways to reduce the costs of sleeve surgery!

If you have factors /conditions that don’t meet the requirements for sleeve surgery, you probably are still qualified for endoscopic intragastric balloon, a procedure that leaves ‘one, two, or three’ saline-filled silicone balloons in the stomach for a certain period of time.

Unlike sleeve surgery, gastric balloon is temporary – it’s not purposed for a long-term fix solution. In this procedure, a deflated silicone balloon is inserted and expanded in the stomach. The expanded balloon will make less room for food, resulting in weight loss because you’re likely to eat less and feel full sooner. The balloon could be left in the stomach for weeks or months.

The qualification requirements are less stringent than sleeve surgery. The most popular one, Orbera balloon, usually only requires:

1. At least 18 years old.
2. BMI of 30 or higher (United States). In some countries, BMI of 27 or higher.

But for some types of gastric balloon procedure, the qualification requirements could be a bit more stringent. ReShape Balloon, for example, requires additional qualification requirements such as having a comorbidity factor associated with obesity (e.g. sleep apnea, hypertension, or diabetes).