Bariatric Surgery: Does Sleep Apnea Affect Surgical Candidacy? - Dr. Johnell

Dr. Johnell:
Sleep apnea is one of the most misdiagnosed or undiagnosed medical conditions that our patients have when they come in to see us for their initial consultation.

Most patients that I see have not been tested for sleep apnea by their primary care provider or other doctors that they have seen in the past.

By and large, if they satisfy the criteria for needing a bariatric surgical procedure they probably have about 50 percent or more chance of having sleep apnea that requires some kind of treatment.

Having sleep apnea, however, does not preclude them from being able to have a bariatric surgical procedure.

We just want to be able to identify that it exist, if it does, preoperatively so we can initiate some kind of treatment so their perioperative and postoperative experience is done as safely as possible.

About Dr. Michael W. Johnell, M.D., F.A.C.S.:
Dr. Johnell is an advanced laparoscopic bariatric surgeon, specializing in the Adjustable Gastric Band procedure. Bariatric surgery constitutes 98 percent of his practice. He has 22 years of general surgery experience, 17 years of advanced laparoscopic surgery experience, and 7 years of laparoscopic bariatric surgery experience.

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• Bariatric Surgery