Stony Brook Medicine Opens New Bariatric & Metabolic Weight Loss Center—Introduces New Facility, Offers More Choices to Lose Weight
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From left to right: Catherine Tuppo, PT, MS, Program Coordinator Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center, Physical Therapist; Darragh Herlihy, ANP Nurse Practitioner, Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center; Andrew Bates, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Surgeon, Division of Bariatric, Foregut and Advanced GI Surgery; Kathryn Cottell, MS, RD, CDN, CDE, Bariatric Dietitian/Nutritionist, Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center; Aurora Pryor, MD FACS Professor of Surgery, Chief Division of Bariatric, Foregut and Advanced GI Surgery, Medical Director, Bariatric and Metabolic Weigh Loss Center; Megan Bennett, RD, Bariatric Dietitian/Nutritionist, Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center; Genna Hymowitz Popovich PhD, Psychologist, Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center; Alice Greene, MD Internal Medicine, Bariatrician Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center |
STONY BROOK, NY, JUNE 24, 2016 – Stony Brook Medicine celebrated the opening of the new Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center at Nicolls Professional Park on South Howell Avenue in Centereach, NY, on Thursday evening.
The new, custom-designed, 2,850-square-foot facility will accommodate the growing practice of the Bariatric, Foregut and Advanced GI Surgery division of the Department of Surgery at Stony Brook Medicine. With the opening of the Center, the team welcomed the addition of three more specialists to its multidisciplinary team— Andrew Bates, MD, a bariatric, foregut and advanced GI surgeon, Alice Greene, MD, a bariatric medicine specialist, and Megan Bennett, RD, a dietitian.
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“We’re pleased to offer patients a facility created specifically for their needs, as well as programs and services delivered by leaders in the field,” says the Center’s director, Aurora Pryor, MD, Chief of Bariatric, Foregut and Advanced GI Surgery at Stony Brook Medicine. “Whether you’re struggling to lose 30 pounds, 50 pounds, 100 pounds, or more, we have the strategies you need to achieve a healthy weight.”
Patients can expect a full comprehensive weight loss care center including pre-and-post surgical care and medical management, diet and nutritional counseling, fitness and exercise coaching, cognitive behavioral therapy and mental health support, and group educational seminars. The team at the Bariatric & Metabolic Weight Loss Center offers the best in advanced surgical and non-surgical weight loss procedures and treatment.
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“Stony Brook Medicine has one of the top Bariatric Surgery Units in country, led by Dr. Aurora Pryor who is a national authority in the area of bariatrics and a spectacular surgeon,” said Mark Talamini, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery, and Chief, Surgical Services, Stony Brook Medicine, “This new center will enable more patients in the region to access this gem of a service in a “one stop” clinical environment that is attractive, uplifting, and efficient and offers the most advanced treatments in weight loss surgery.”
Among the newest advances available is the Orbera™ gastric balloon. FDA-approved in 2015, the Orbera procedure is geared to patients seeking to lose 30 to 50 pounds. It involves a balloon placed in the patient’s stomach endoscopically and filled with saline solution. Removed after six months, the balloon makes portion control easier. A 12-month customized diet and exercise program help ensure that new habits stick.
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“There’s no incision, no downtime and minimal risk,” says Dr. Pryor. The device has had 20 years of successful use internationally. It is not currently covered by most insurance plans.
“There are many reasons to seek a healthy weight, and at Stony Brook, equally as many tools to help you reach your goals,” says Dr. Pryor. Procedures offered at Stony Brook include sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, adjustable gastric banding, duodenal switch, revisional surgeries, intragastric balloon, V-bloc™ vagus nerve stimulator and other novel devices.
A healthy weight means better health overall. “With weight loss, many health problems improve or disappear,” says Dr. Pryor, “including type 2 diabetes; high blood pressure; joint pain; high cholesterol; sleep apnea; depression; gout; pancreatitis; infertility; sexual health issues; and for women, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).”
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Research has proven that bariatric surgery patients also have a lower risk for stroke, cancer and pregnancy complications. And then there are the personal and lifestyle benefits – looking better, feeling better and having more energy to devote to work, fun and family.
Stony Brook’s Bariatric, Foregut and Advanced GI Surgery Division’s success is reflected in its outcomes — which are among the best nationally — and in its national accreditation. Stony Brook has earned the highest level of accreditation for the broadest range of procedures and patients through the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) — the only accreditation program recognized by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).
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About Stony Brook Medicine:
Stony Brook Medicine integrates and elevates all of Stony Brook University’s health-related initiatives: education, research and patient care. It includes five Health Sciences schools — Dental Medicine, Health Technology and Management, Medicine, Nursing and Social Welfare — as well as Stony Brook University Hospital and more than 50 community-based healthcare settings throughout Suffolk County. To learn more, visit www.stonybrookmedicine.edu
About Stony Brook Surgery:
The Department of Surgery is made up of ten clinical division that represent diverse areas of surgical specialization. We offer specialized surgical services with several clinical programs and facilities unique in Suffolk County including: Breast and Oncologic Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Colon and Rectal Surgery, Bariatric, Foregut & Advanced Gastrointestinal Surgery, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (ENT), Pediatric Surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Surgical Oncology, Trauma, Emergency Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care, and Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. The faculty and staff of these divisions perform approximately 5,000 in-patient and 2,500 ambulatory surgery procedures at Stony Brook University Hospital annually. Our physicians are dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of surgical expertise, as well as to placing the welfare and rights of patients above all else. As important new procedures — in particular, minimally invasive procedures — are developed, our physicians lead the way in performing them. And as scientists, they also are doing innovative research and translating their discoveries into improved patient care. The operating suites at University Hospital are equipped with the latest technology that enables us to give patients the most sophisticated surgical care available today. To learn more, visit www.stonybrooksurgery.org
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631-444-7880
