Choosing a weight loss surgeon is a highly personal -- and important -- decision. Your level of comfort and confidence in your surgeon is one of the key factors in deciding on a weight loss surgery doctor.

To help you make your decision, you should ask other people that you know who have had weight loss surgery how they feel about their surgeons. Find out if your insurance company covers weight loss surgery and if the surgeon accepts your insurance.

And most importantly, you should schedule a consultation to see how you feel with the doctor.

Weight loss surgery is major surgery. Choosing to have weight loss surgery is one of the most important decisions that you will make in your lifetime. The surgery alters your body, often permanently, and can cause serious complications if not performed correctly. It is absolutely essential that you use a qualified surgeon to perform your weight loss surgery. But what does that mean? Many surgeons use various marketing techniques and claim that they are qualified, even when they are fresh out of medical school. Look for the following qualifications when you choose a weight loss surgery doctor:

• specializes in weight loss surgery
• holds a medical degree from a reputable institution
• is an American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery member
• is board certified with the American Board of Surgery
• has performed a large number of successful weight loss surgeries
• is experienced in the type of weight loss surgery you plan to have
• stays current with new weight loss surgery technologies
• practices primarily in the hospital or clinic where you plan to have your surgery
• has a low complication and mortality rate
• provides former or current weight loss surgery patient references
• has a good bedside manner and makes you feel comfortable and confident

Increasingly, Internet doctors who are not certified in weight loss surgery have been listing weight loss surgery services at "bargain" prices. Unfortunately, these bargains often carry a steep price in complications and later surgical corrections.

Many of these doctors practice outside of the United States and are therefore not regulated by the FDA or the American judicial system. Being outside of US law means that patients have no recourse if something goes wrong or if doctors or clinics don't live up to their promises after payment is made.

Furthermore, although the rate that these foreign doctors charge seems less expensive at first glance, once you add in the travel expense for the patient and required traveling companion (to assist after surgery), travel cost for required follow-up visits, and the fact that very few insurance companies cover anything overseas, the savings quickly vanishes.