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Missouri Bariatric Services named Center of Excellence University of Missouri Health Care’s Missouri Bariatric Services program recently received designation as a Center of Excellence by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Center of Excellence designation is awarded to bariatric surgery programs with excellent standards of patient care and effective results. Designated programs must have high surgery success rates, good short-term and long-term results, a comprehensive program and extensive experience. Bariatric surgery refers to the various surgical procedures that are used to treat morbid obesity. For morbidly obese individuals who have been unable to achieve significant weight loss through diet modifications and exercise programs alone, bariatric surgery may help to attain a more healthy body weight. According to the National Institutes of Health morbid or clinically severe obesity, which constitutes at least 100 pounds over an individual’s ideal body weight, is a serious disease. Those who suffer from severe obesity are at risk for life-threatening conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, gall bladder disease and hypertension. Quality of life issues such as infertility, orthopaedic problems and sleep apnea may also result from obesity. “Perhaps no other medical condition has been more misunderstood, mistreated or misrepresented than obesity,” said Roger de la Torre, M.D., medical director of Missouri Bariatric Services. “People who are obese suffer not only severe health risks, but discrimination, ridicule and misunderstanding.” University of Missouri Health Care’s bariatric program underwent a rigorous inspection and review process. After a representative of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery visited MU for a thorough inspection, a society-appointed committee reviewed information about the program to verify that it met all of the criteria for becoming a Center of Excellence. “Our bariatric program includes surgeons, nurses, dietitians, psychologists, physical therapists and a program coordinator to give patients the best possible care before and after their surgery,” said de la Torre. “We have performed hundreds of bariatric surgeries for patients in the past few years with outstanding results.” MU’s Missouri Bariatric Services also includes a medical bariatrician, Kevin Suttmoeller, D.O. Suttmoeller is an internal medicine physician who specializes in obesity. Internationally recognized as a leader in laparoscopic surgery, de la Torre has been invited to hospitals and universities throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and South America to lecture and perform various laparoscopic operations. He holds more than 40 patents worldwide for surgical devices and has performed more than 3,000 bariatric procedures. He has also published articles in surgical journals and laparoscopic textbooks regarding the techniques he helped develop. University of Missouri Health Care’s system of hospitals, clinics and telehealth sites employs approximately 6,000 clinicians, scientists, educators and other health professionals. The system includes University Hospital and Clinics, Children’s Hospital, Columbia Regional Hospital, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center and University Physicians, all based in Columbia, Mo. The health system also includes a long-term acute care facility, Missouri Rehabilitation Center, in Mount Vernon, Mo. Academic affiliates of the health system include the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, Sinclair School of Nursing and School of Health Professions. Other affiliates of the health system include Rusk Rehabilitation Center in Columbia, Mo.; Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City, Mo.; and Cooper County Memorial Hospital in Boonville, Mo. |
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