I've lurked here for months and finally made an account because I need some straight answers from people who aren't my family.
I'm 63, retired dinner lady, BMI 41, type 2 diabetes for nine years, blood pressure tablets, and knees that have been "bone on bone" according to the last X ray. The orthopaedic surgeon won't touch my knees until my BMI is lower. So I got myself referred for a sleeve, did all the appointments, the dietitian, the psychologist, the lot, and last week the bariatric surgeon said he's happy to go ahead. Heart tests fine, sleep study fine.
Then I told my son and daughter. My son said "at your age, Mum?" and my daughter sent me an article about someone who died after weight loss surgery. Now I'm lying awake. Is 63 too old? Am I being selfish? The surgeon didn't seem to think age was the issue at all, but he would say that, wouldn't he.
Jean, you're not being selfish, you're trying to get your knees done. That's about as unselfish a reason as there is.
The oldest lady in my support group was 66 when she had hers. She's now walking her dog twice a day and came off one of her blood pressure tablets. Your kids are scared, which is love, but scared isn't the same as right.
Surgeons say no plenty, in my experience. Mine turned a bloke down in the same clinic the week I was assessed because of his heart. If yours has seen your heart tests and your sleep study and still said yes, that IS him looking at the risk, not ignoring it.
Might be worth taking one of the kids to your next appointment so they can ask him themselves.
Seconding Alan on bringing one of them. My mum came to my pre-op and went in sceptical and came out knowing more about staple lines than I did. It's much harder to be frightened of something when you've heard the person doing it explain it.
#5October 31, 2026, 9:05 am Jean, the direct answer: 63 is not too old for a sleeve as a rule. The NHS criteria are built on BMI and health, not age, and there's no fixed upper limit in them. What age changes is how carefully we assess you, which from what you describe is exactly what your team has done. Heart tests, a sleep study, and a surgeon prepared to put his name to it are the parts that count.
Some honest context, because you asked for straight answers. The risks of the operation do rise with age and with the conditions that tend to come with it, which is why the assessment is more thorough. In people over 60 the sleeve is often the operation surgeons favour, partly because research in that age group suggests it carries fewer complications than a gastric bypass, though the bypass tends to give a bit more weight loss. Weight loss after 60 is usually real but often a little less than in younger patients, and the goals that tend to matter most are the ones you've named: blood sugar, blood pressure, and getting your BMI to a point where your knee surgeon will operate.
The two things I'd want you to take seriously afterwards are muscle and fluids. Protein at every meal and getting moving early protect muscle, which matters more at 63, and thirst is weaker with age, so steady sipping in the first weeks is important. The site's guide to having a gastric sleeve over 60 sets this out in more detail and would be a good thing to share with your son and daughter. Alan's suggestion is a good one too: your surgeon is the right person to answer their questions about your own risk, and most are happy to.
Thank you all. I printed that guide and gave it to my daughter, and she's coming with me to the next appointment with a list of questions, which is very her. My son has gone quiet, which in our family means he's thinking about it.
Date isn't set yet but I'm not backing out. Will keep you posted.
