En español

Excellence performance

Bariatric surgery program receives recognition

To find a time when Gary Gaudreau felt as healthy as he does now, the 47-yearold said he’d have to revert to his 8-year-old self. It was 1969, his first year of playing Little League, and pictures show him as a lean kid.

“Two years later, I had a gut on me like I’d been drinking beer for 20 years—and I was 10 years old,” Gaudreau said. His weight became a constant challenge in his life. He tried various diet and exercise programs with little success, but a few years ago Gaudreau said he became intrigued when a friend told him about his own gastric bypass operation.

Gaudreau underwent surgery in May 2006 and has since lost 180 pounds dropping from more than 400 to 220. He no longer suffers from high blood pressure or sleep apnea and he isn’t hovering on the edge of developing diabetes. “I’ve been married for 21 years. I weigh less now than I did when we got married,” Gaudreau said. “I weigh less now than when I graduated from high school.”

The operation, one of several types of bariatric surgery, is an option for treating obesity and is the best treatment for Type 2 diabetes, explained Dr. Stephen Archer  of Advanced Specialty Care in Bend. Recently ASC, St. Charles Bend, Archer and his colleague Dr. Marinus Koning, received a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence designation from the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. The designation means patients like Gaudreau can be assured that bariatric operations performed by surgeons in Bend are completed at a high level of care by physicians who have been extensively trained and have shown proven quality
and safety results.

They should also have an easier time getting coverage for the procedure from their health insurance providers. Medicare only covers bariatric operations performed at Centers of Excellence, Archer said, and other insurers often follow Medicare’s lead.

“The Center of Excellence designation demonstrates the hospital’s and the surgeons’ commitment to quality in bariatric surgery,” Archer said. “It opens the door to more coverage for more patients.”

Gaudreau is excited about the designation and what it might mean for others living with obesity and related illnesses. He said he wouldn’t hesitate to encourage those considering the operation to go forward with it if they are willing and ready to change their lifestyle.

“This whole thing has been an incredible blessing in my life. It has changed my life,” Gaudreau said. “I’m here to tell you, it was worth it.”

For more information on bariatric surgery, attend a free seminar held from 6 to 8 p.m. every third Tuesday of the month at St. Charles Bend’s Center for Health and Learning.