How do I find a good doctor for weight loss surgery?

You wouldn't want an orthodontist doing a heart transplant, or a urologist doing a nose job. So the same rules apply when you're having weight loss surgery: Find a specialist.

Ideally, you'll use a facility and team that does the procedure laproscopically, as opposed to open. Laproscopy means that the surgeons will make small incisions and do the procedure through tubes (it'll appear as if they're working with chopsticks). Laproscopic surgery means you'll heal faster with less pain, but sometimes the surgeon has to resort to the old-fashioned way.

You'll want to find a hospital that does at least 150 procedures a year—they have much lower complication rates than those that don't. You should choose a hospital certified by the American Society of Bariatric Surgery (www.asbs.org).

Whatever surgeon or facility you choose, be sure there's an entire team of support both pre-op (to minimize complications) and post-op (to give you the best chance for success), including a nutritionist and psychiatrist. You can eat your way through—and thus destroy—any of these procedures. A support team can help you prevent post-op pudding backfires and give you resources to call upon as you're adjusting to your new eating habits—and new body.