by Merle C. Goldberg, LCSW; and Heidi M. Limbrunner, PsyD

Merle Goldberg is in private practice in Silver Spring, Maryland, and is co-author of Weight Loss Surgery: Is It Right For You and My Thin Excuse: Understanding, Recognizing and Overcoming Eating Disorders. Heidi M. Limbrunner, PsyD, is with Southeast Psychological Services in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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by Terri Bly, PsyD; Megrette Fletcher Hammond, MEd, RD, CDE; Roger Thomson, PhD; and Paul Bagdade, PhD

Terri Elofson Bly, PsyD, conducts preoperative psychological assessments for surgical weight loss programs in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and leads several monthly bariatric support groups.
Megrette Fletcher Hammond, MEd, RD, CDE, is a registered dietitian and diabetes educator at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, NH, and Executive Director of the Center for Mindful Eating (www.tcme.org).
Roger Thomson, PhD, is on the faculty of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and is Co-director of Integrative Health Partners, a practice group that offers mindfulness-informed psychotherapy and courses in mindful eating. He can be reached through www.integrativehealthpartners.org.
Paul Bagdade, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and Director of Behavioral Health at HealthEast Bariatric Care in St. Paul, MN, and practices at Northwest Psychology Consultants.
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by Carol Bradley, RN, CS, MSN

From the Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center; Adjunct Clinical Professor, Orvis School of Nursing, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada

Address for correspondence:
Carol Bradley, RN, CS, MSN, Saint Mary’s Center for Health, Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence, 645 N Arlington Ave., Suite 200, Reno, NV 89503; Phone: (775) 770-3174; Fax: (775) 770-6908; Email: carol.bradley@saintmarysreno.com.

Background

There is increasing consensus that bariatric surgery is superior to medical intervention for long-term weight loss in morbidly obese persons.[1] Most postoperative patients are able to lose a significant amount of weight, profit from reduced or resolved comorbidities, and have an improved quality of life (QOL).

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