FDA Lowers BMI Requirement for Bariatric Surgery

Safe and successful patient outcomes first prompted Bruce Wolfe, the President of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, to recommend that the FDA broadens eligibility for Lap-Band® surgery.  In December 2010, an FDA advisory panel voted 8 to 2 in favor of lowering BMI requirements.

As a result, the FDA announced lowering its BMI requirements for Lap-Band® eligibility from 35 kg/m2 to 30 kg/m2, with an obesity-related medical problem (such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or sleep apnea).  The FDA still recommends Lap-Band® eligibility for everyone with BMI greater than 40 kg/m2, regardless of related medical problems.

By lowering requirements to 30 kg/m2, experts predict that an additional 25 million Americans will become eligible for Lap-Band® surgery!