Centers of Excellence+ Programs

University Hospitals Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence+

If you are a candidate for weight loss surgery, the University Hospitals Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence+ offers a complete range of bariatric surgery services, including evaluation, travel assistance, surgery, aftercare and associated ancillary services. Our highly experienced bariatric surgery specialists and skilled staff offer tailored support for patients, including lifetime nutrition counseling for patients both before and after weight loss surgery with a team of registered dietitians. Because many of our staff have had weight loss surgery themselves, they understand your journey and know how to help you achieve long-term success.

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Choose an option to begin planning your weight loss surgery at our Center of Excellence+.

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What Is a Center of Excellence+?

At UH, we define Center of Excellence+ (COE+) as a program established to supply an exceptionally high concentration of expertise and related resources centered on a particular area of medicine. A COE+ strives for value, optimal clinical outcomes, a positive patient experience, and lower costs for both patients and employers.

Bundled Package

All the services offered through University Hospitals’ Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence are bundled together to be paid at a single rate. This approach promotes efficiency and best practices from all caregivers involved as they work together to provide the highest quality patient care while staying within a price point. Program navigators provide concierge-style support, coordinating all specialist appointments and ancillary services and accompanying patients to these appointments.

The UH Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence+ bundled package includes the following:

Evaluation

Surgeon consult
Medical records review
Lab services
Psychiatry consult and assessment
In-person nutritional counseling session
Additional remote nutritional counseling sessions
Communication with home managing provider
Member program material

Surgery

Pre-operative Optifast liquid diet
Bariatric surgery charges for the following:
- Hospital
- Surgeon
- Anesthesia
- Radiology
- Pathology
Hernia repair
Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD)
Postoperative physical therapy visits
Postoperative rehabilitation visits
Cane or walker

Available Procedures

Procedures offered through the Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence+ include the following:

Gastric Bypass

Also known as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass weight loss surgery, this procedure shrinks the size of your upper stomach to a small pouch to reduce the amount of food you can eat in order to facilitate weight loss. The intestines are also rerouted to decrease the absorption of calories and change the metabolism of insulin. On average, gastric bypass surgery can help people lose 50 to 75 percent of their excess weight.

Gastric bypass has been around longer than any other surgical weight loss procedure available today and remains one of the most commonly performed bariatric surgery procedures worldwide. Gastric bypass is commonly considered for patients that have diabetes or severe heartburn. The procedure is one of the most effective anti-reflux operations available today, resolving reflux in 75 percent of patients that choose this surgery.

Sleeve Gastrectomy

With the minimally invasive sleeve gastrectomy procedure, a surgeon removes 80 to 90 percent of your stomach, making more of a tube shape, similar to a medium-sized banana. With a smaller stomach, you will feel fuller faster. Bariatric sleeve surgery removes the portion of your stomach where hunger hormones are generated, which also results in a decreased appetite and improvement in hunger. You may lose 50 to 60 percent of your excess weight on average with a gastric sleeve procedure, along with seeing improvements in your overall health.

Duodenal Switch

This biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD/DS) is a more complex bariatric surgery technique that combines the steps of the sleeve gastrectomy with the decreased absorption of calories aspect similar to the gastric bypass. A duodenal switch (DS) is known to produce the largest weight loss of 150 pounds or more, as well as the greatest benefits for control of diabetes, but also carries the highest risk of malnutrition. Your surgeon can help determine if this is the right choice for you.

For further information on bariatric surgery preparation, bariatric surgery aftercare and related topics, please visit our Bariatric Surgical Weight Loss page.

Meet the Team

Mujjahid Abbas, MD – Program Surgeon
Aviv Ben-Meir, MD – Program Surgeon
Leena Khaitan, MD, MPH – Program Surgeon
Anna Hazinakis, BSN, RN, CBN – Program Manager
Jessica Powers, RN, BSN, CNOR, RNFA – Program Coordinator

Information for Out-of-Town Patients

Getting to University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center

UH Geauga Medical Center
13207 Ravenna Road
Chardon, OH 44024
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Hotel Accommodations

Patients are responsible for making their own lodging arrangements within a 90-minute drive of UH Geauga Medical Center. Recommended hotels around the area include the following:

Hotel Name	Address	Telephone	Distance to UH Geauga
The Lodge at Bass Lake	426 South St., Chardon	440-285-3100	4.9 miles
Comfort Inn	7581 Auburn Rd., Painesville	440-579-0300	12.5 miles
Holiday Inn Express	11200 Gold Ct., Painesville	440-898-0900	12.4 miles
Punderson Manor	11755 Kinsman Rd., Newbury	440-564-9144	5.5 miles
Staybridge Suites	6103 Landerhaven Dr., Mayfield Heights	440-442-9200	16.6 miles

Getting to University Hospitals Parma Medical Center

UH Parma Medical Center
7007 Powers Boulevard
Parma, OH 44129
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