Franciscan Health Indianapolis Only Hospital In State To Offer Outpatient Bariatric Surgery

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana - Franciscan Health Indianapolis is the first and only hospital system in Indiana to offer same day outpatient bariatric procedures for weight-loss surgery.

Jonathan Mandelbaum, MD, surgeon and medical director of bariatric surgery and a member of Franciscan Physician Network Indy Southside Surgical Indianapolis, spearheaded this development late last year as some surgery cases were halted because of an increase in coronavirus cases. In advance, he consulted with fellow experts at Panhandle Weight Loss Center in Amarillo, Texas.

"With the full support of the Franciscan clinical leadership and my colleague Dr. Igor Wanko Mboumi and our tremendous team we moved forward with this endeavor," Dr. Mandelbaum said. "This is a major development and game-changer for the patients we are privileged to care for."

Dr. Mandelbaum began performing bariatric surgeries outpatient in February 2022. Since then, he and Dr. Wanko have performed 29 outpatient (sleeve gastrectomy) procedures.

Not all patients qualify for the procedure. There are several factors that determine who is a candidate. The primary determinants are the existence of medical problems that require an overnight stay. Further, Medicare and Medicaid require patients to be classified inpatient. If the patient's insurance allows them to be an outpatient, the surgeon will determine during the surgical consultation whether or not they are an outpatient candidate.

Those who qualify are discharged the same day. There are no other differences in the length of time for recovery. The Nurse Practitioners have telephone encounters with the patient the following day to gauge patient status and needs.

Learn more about weight loss surgery services at Franciscan Health.