St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Holds Free Seminar on Bariatric Surgery

Pontiac, MI—St. Joseph Mercy Oakland (SJMO), in partnership with the Michigan Bariatric Institute (MBI), will host a free educational seminar focusing on bariatric surgery options at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18, 2010, in the SJMO Franco Communications Center Auditorium, 44405 Woodward Ave., Pontiac.

Entitled, “A Minimal Surgical Approach to Treating Obesity,” the seminar will feature an overview of the bariatric surgery program and the types of procedures it offers, as well as a question and answer session.

Speakers include Tallal Zeni, MD; Jacob Roberts, DO and Paula Magid, MBI program director and former bariatric patient. 

Surgeons at MBI are experienced in advanced laparoscopic surgical techniques, including laparoscopic gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy and adjustable gastric banding.  Laparoscopic bariatric surgery results in minimal pain, less scarring, shorter hospital stay and recovery time.  Weight loss of about 70 percent of excess body weight can be anticipated within the first year and maintained.

 Dr. Roberts recently joined the SJMO medical staff as a general and minimally invasive bariatric surgeon.  He will perform surgeries at SJMO and at St. Mary Mercy Livonia, both Saint Joseph Mercy Health System member hospitals. 

Dr. Roberts received his medical degree at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and was chief resident at St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital, Oakland Center in Madison Heights, Mich.  He completed his fellowship training at the Chicago Institute of Minimally Invasive Surgery at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, Ill.  Dr. Roberts also is board certified in General Surgery.

Dr. Zeni, director of Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery at St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia and MBI medical director, received his medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine, where he completed his residency in General Surgery.  He completed his fellowship in Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, Evanston, Ill.  He is board certified in General Surgery.

 Since the program’s inception in 2005 at St. Mary Mercy Hospital, MBI has performed more than 500 bariatric surgeries to date. 

The MBI program provides a comprehensive approach to the bariatric surgery experience, including

• Medical director
• Program director
• Team of specially trained registered nurses, registered dieticians, behavioral specialists and exercise physiologists to assist the patient through the process
• Free educational seminars
• Comprehensive pre-surgical classes
• Post-surgical follow-up visits
• Monthly support group

 To register for the educational seminar or for more information, call 877-Why-Weight.