If you are in America and grumbling about your insurance company's requirement to do a three or six month weight loss program before surgery, it may help you to know this information.

In the metro Vancouver area and  Vancouver Island, including Victoria,  there is a population of about 3.2 million people. To the best of my knowledge there are only  two surgeons doing gastric bypass and sleeve surgeries. Government health care pays for the surgery, but has limited the surgeons to a total of 52 surgeries PER YEAR. A gastric bypass up here who is about 18 months post op, told me she waited about 1 1/2 years for her initial consult with the surgeon. Then she waited about two years for surgery. This is not uncommon. I am told by the patients that the typical wait for gastric bypass is 2 1/2 to 3 years. This time will likely increase because of the recent limitation of surgeries that can be done.

Gastric banding is more readily available because it is only by self-pay. The province of British Columbia pays zero for banding so these folks can have surgery much quicker, but out of pocket for about $17,000. The province of Alberta pays for a limited number of gastric band surgeries. Based the number of eligible for surgery population, the Alberta wait list works out to about 32 YEARS for  government-paid gastric band surgery.

Three or six months to wait doesn't seem too bad now, does it? Use the time to practice new eating habits for after surgery. Work on your preop weight loss. Your surgery date will be here before you know it and you will do better long-term if you have those good habits in place before you walk into the surgery center.