Fellowship Trained Bariatric Surgeons

In addition to five years of General Surgical Residency with rigorous operative and clinical training as well as Board Certification, a Fellowship trained Bariatric Surgeon spends an additional year of surgical training specifically with Bariatric Patients. Both Dr. Brown and Dr. Leavitt have trained at a Center of Excellence in Bariatric Surgery, focusing on a multidisciplinary approach to Weight Loss Surgery. This incorporates supervised surgery including Sleeve Gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass, Duodenal Switch Procedures, Upper Endoscopy and Minimally Invasive Training.

In order to graduate, each physician completes a designated number of each procedure and demonstrated expertise as determined by leaders in the field of Bariatric surgery. Case logs and patient encounters are submitted and critiqued for proficiency, letters of recommendation required, and research and/or publication in the field of study is required to ultimately become a Fellow of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (F-ASMBS).

Fellows are taught to approach every patient as a unique individual, assessing them for the best and most effective intervention available. We are taught that lifestyle, diet, surgery, AND lifelong management of our patients is of the utmost importance.

The Surgical Review Corporation (SRC), in collaboration with American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) has created a program to help highlight providers who deliver excellent care. The ASMBS Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence® (BSCOE) designation helps identify where patients like you can expect to receive safer and more effective surgical treatment.

Designated facilities must meet a list of requirements. They must pass a thorough site inspection that includes:

• A full review of the facilities
• Interviews with surgeons, staff and leaders of the hospital
• And a detailed review of medical charts.

The facility and providers are reviewed EVERY THREE YEARS and are required to complete Continuing Medical Education annually in the area of Bariatric Surgery specifically. BSCOE facilities are also required to report their detailed patient outcomes information on a regular basis using SRC’s Bariatric Outcomes Longitudinal Database™ (BOLD™) for monitoring and research.

Studies show that surgeons and hospitals with higher volumes achieve better results with fewer mortalities, complications, re-operations and revisions. Higher volume centers are more likely to offer extended resources, such as a multidisciplinary team of specialists, important for the care of bariatric patients. SRC requires that each BSCOE hospital perform at least 125 bariatric surgical cases each year.

BSCOE designation does not mean that all surgeons working there will automatically pass.

The facility has demonstrated their commitment to quality care, resulting in better overall outcomes for bariatric surgery patients. They offer a broad range of bariatric surgery care services, including inpatient care, post-operative care, outpatient follow-up care and patient education. The center must have all of the following: 1-An established bariatric surgery program, actively performing these procedures for the most recent 12-month period and performing a required minimum volume of 125 such surgeries annually. 2-Appropriate experience of its bariatric surgery team. 3-An acute care inpatient facility, including intensive care and emergency services. 4-Full facility accreditation by a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)-deemed national accreditation organization. 5-A comprehensive quality management program