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Starting in high school, I volunteered as an emergency medical technician for 10 years. After caring for patients, it was hard to say goodbye. I wanted to be able to treat them on an ongoing basis. So, I decided to become a doctor.

Pediatric surgery appealed to me because I realized I could have an impact on a child’s health for the rest of their life. I repair birth defects, such as hernias, anorectal malformations, and others that affect the digestive system and lungs. I also remove tumors. Whenever possible, I use minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques.

As surgical director of the Adolescent Healthy Weight Program, part of Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at ��������Ƶ, I specialize in performing minimally invasive bariatric surgery in adolescents who are overweight. I offer sleeve gastrectomy, in which the size of the stomach is reduced by up to 80 percent. This surgery helps patients feel fuller and less hungry, so they eat less and lose weight.

Losing weight can be challenging, and bariatric surgery can give teens the help they need to drop excess pounds. It can help improve cardiovascular health and reduce their risk of developing diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea. The procedure can also improve a child’s quality of life.

At the Adolescent Healthy Weight Program, children receive care from a multidisciplinary team trained to treat adolescents. I collaborate with specialists in obesity medicine, endocrinology, nutrition, physical therapy, and psychology to create a personalized treatment plan for each patient. If a child has bariatric surgery, they see a nutritionist and a psychologist afterward to help ensure they remain at a healthy weight.

Although bariatric surgery is very effective, I recommend that patients consider other approaches to weight loss first. If a patient decides the procedure is right for them, I ask about their expectations. I also ask them to tell me what lifestyle changes they will make after the surgery to keep the weight off.

In addition to caring for patients, I conduct surgical outcomes research. I have published more than 65 articles in peer-reviewed medical journals. I am a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and have received several research awards, including the Featured New Investigator Award from the Central Society for Clinical and Translational Research.