Programs & Services

OLLMC Surgical Associates: Gus J. Slotman, M.D.

With Surgery and Strong Warnings, Obesity Doctor Helps Reshape Lives

Even as formerly obese patients reunited recently and credited him with saving their lives, even as he posed for photos with revitalized, appreciative "losers" who now wear regular-sized clothing, even then Gus J. Slotman, M.D., pulled no punches.

The personable physician, a designated Center of Excellence Surgeon by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, stood beside a buffet table laden with delicious foods and—putting together his first finger and thumb—contrasted that potential feast with the capacity of a stomach reshaped in gastric bypass surgery: One Tablespoon.

"When everyone else is eating three meals and a snack, you have to commit yourself to a lifetime of eight two-ounce portions a day," he said, now holding his middle finger and thumb together to signify an egg-sized "meal" tolerated by the drastically reduced stomach. (Details on the post-gastric bypass diet.)

"I tell people gastric bypass is permanent, irreversible surgery with significant risks and complications. I explain that it is just a tool and they can hurt themselves by abusing it," said Dr. Slotman, medical director of the bariatric surgery program at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center. (The surgery explained here.)

Knowing that obese patients he counsels sometimes want an instant cure requiring little effort, Dr. Slotman warns them: Do not sit there, watch my lips on mute and just hear God inside your head saying: Thin. Thin. Thin.

"Gastric bypass surgery is a surgical solution to medical illnesses caused by a psychological problem and it will succeed only when the psychological issues are overcome." said Dr. Slotman. "That's why our coaching is so strong. I think what is unique about our practice is that we offer a lifetime relationship with the patients."

The coaching is called the Integrated Bariatric Lifestyle Program and includes support and counseling offered by both Dr. Slotman and his staff and the Lourdes Wellness Center. At the beginning of the process, one of the major issues the Slotman team addresses with patients is the complexity of health insurance reimbursement for gastric bypass surgery.

When it all clicks—insurance, psychological support, successful surgery, diet compliance—the results often are dramatic, at times the stuff of made-for-TV movies. Successful patients talk of strengthened families, a new personal confidence, a fondness for physical exercise and a reduced role of food in their lives. (See testimonials.) And Dr. Slotman points to the positive benefits of successful surgery, even for those with a high Body Mass Index (See "We Take on Very Large People.")

For him, open surgery, not laparoscopic, is the best way to deal with the risk and complications of gastric bypass surgery. He has an excellent record in avoiding a serious complication-leaks in the new connection between the stomach and intestine.

"The national leak rate is one-to-four percent, and there is a 50 percent mortality rate because of infection" he said.

"I've done nearly 1400 gastric bypasses and I've had one leak, and that involved a patient who was non-compliant.

"We saved her life and now she is skinny, she is normal weight. We count it as a leak because it happened, but it wasn't caused by the surgery."

Like all operations, bariatric surgery carries inherent risks. You can find the general risks and specific risks for this type of surgery on page 6 of Dr. Slotman's obesity surgery booklet here.

A "people person" popular with patients, Dr. Slotman likes to explain the other, non-medical dimension of his practice. That includes an annual trip by the physician, other healthcare professionals and volunteers—staff members, families and former patients—for hands-on work with the Missionaries of the Poor program in Jamaica. Photos of this work.

To locate a Lourdes Health System bariatric surgeon by phone, call 1-888-LOURDES.

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