When she saw her July 2012 vacation picture,
Melissa Staud of Harwood knew she had to
make a change for the better. She weighed 275
pounds and knew she needed to lose weight to
improve her life and her health.
“I honestly tried on my own to lose weight,
but I wasn’t successful no matter what I tried,
even Weight Watchers and working out at
the gym,” says the 34-year-old. “For me, the
problem was portion control, and I also made bad food choices.
After vacation, I looked into weight loss surgery and decided it
was a good option for me.”
In January 2013, Melissa had gastric sleeve surgery, in which a
portion of her stomach was removed.
The surgery opened a whole new world for Melissa, who
acknowledges that people used to treat her differently. “I don’t get
stares anymore, and I like the way I look. Now I can bend over,
tie my shoes, actually get boots on, and buy clothes from a store.”
She’s thrilled to take longer horseback rides and ride smaller horses.
“Horses are my passion,” she says.
The procedure was performed by Alex Gandsas, MD, medical
director of the Weight Loss and Metabolic Surgery Program
at AAMC.
“Less than a year after the surgery, Melissa lost 119 pounds,” says
Dr. Gandsas. He has performed more than 200 successful weight
loss (bariatric) surgeries in the first year-and-a-half of the hospital’s
new program.
She expected to lose about 50 to 60 percent of her excess weight
after the surgery and was pleasantly surprised. “Thanks to the
surgery, my complete lifestyle change and formation of new habits, I
have surpassed those average numbers and have lost nearly 90 percent
of the excess weight,” she says. Not only that, she also eliminated her
Alex
Gandsas, MD
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» A AMC MAGA Z I N E | W I N T E R 2 014
Back
in the Saddle
WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY
Bariatric surgery is a procedure that reduces stomach size.
Individuals who undergo weight loss (bariatric) surgery must be at
least 100 pounds overweight.
Alex Gandsas, MD, performs the following procedures:
››
gastrectomy—removal of a portion of the stomach
››
gastric banding—implanted, adjustable medical device
››
gastric bypass—division and rerouting small intestines into a
small stomach pouch
››
revisional surgery
Weight Loss and Metabolic Surgery Program
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