Rohit A. Patel, MD, FACS, Director, and Dawn Stepnowski, DNP-APN-C, Associate Director, Cooper Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
CAMDEN, N.J.—Nearly 100 million Americans — two-thirds of the adult population — are overweight or obese. Numerous studies show that diet and exercise alone are not as effective for people who are 75 to 100 pounds overweight. As South Jersey’s healthcare leader, Cooper University Hospital is pleased to introduce a new weight loss program for patients that uses state-of-the-art minimally invasive surgical techniques to achieve optimal weight loss results.
“Only 5 percent of traditional weight loss methods are successful long term in this population,” says Rohit A. Patel, MD, FACS, Director, Cooper Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and Head, Division of Bariatric Surgery. “With weight loss surgery, patients can lose substantial amounts of weight and prevent, cure or fend off a host of disease and conditions.”
Bariatric surgery can help patients with many health conditions including type 2 diabetes and its complications, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, liver disease, arthritis, degenerative joint disease, GERD, sleep apnea and other chronic conditions related to weight.
The Cooper Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery offers a range of fully laparoscopic weight loss procedures including gastric bypass, gastric banding and sleeve gastrectomy. Dr. Patel has performed over 400 weight loss procedures and is board certified and fellowship trained in bariatric surgery. He uses minimally invasive techniques on most patients.
“Bariatric surgery is especially appropriate for individuals who have tried all other weight loss options and are ready to commit to maintaining a completely different and healthy lifestyle,” says Dr. Patel.
Surgical candidates must have a body mass index (BMI) over 40 or a BMI over 35 if they have medical problems such as type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure.
These minimally invasive surgical options are FDA approved and are covered under most health insurance plans.
On Tuesday, December 13, 2011, the Cooper Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery is hosting a FREE seminar beginning at 6:30 p.m., located at the Mansion on Main Street in Voorhees, NJ. For more information or to register for this event, you can log onto events.cooperhealth.org