Bariatric Surgery

Westfield Hospital hosts informational sessions and Bariatric Support Group meetings for people thinking about weight loss surgery and those people who have already had their surgery. To see the next scheduled meeting, please go to Bariatric Support Group Meeting, under the Announcements page. The Support Group meetings are held on the third Tuesday of the month in Westfield Hospital's third floor conference room, starting at 6:45 p.m. for the informational session and 7:00 p.m. for the support group session. Meetings are free to the public; all are welcome to attend. Patients from other support groups are also invited to attend. Westfield is located at 4815 W. Tilghman Street, Allentown, PA 18104.

For more information, call Dr. Vitaly Sawyna at (610) 437-3585. Also visit Dr. Sawyna and Dr. Russo's Lehigh Valley Bariatrics page here.

Westfield Hospital, under the surgical prowess of Dr. Vitaly Sawyna, offers full bariatric services for patients who are overweight. For those patients who are considering bariatric surgery, please visit our site regularly for dates and times of our support group meetings. At the meetings, you will have ample time to ask questions and interact with patients who have already had weight loss surgery. The different weight loss surgery options will be discussed. Currently, Westfield Hospital offers the Lap-Band, the Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Bypass, and Laparoscopic Revision Surgery. We stress that all these operations are completed through the laparoscope which minimizes pain and significantly shortens your hospital stay. Westfield will soon offer a third option for weight loss surgery, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

For more information on the Lap Band procedure, visit http://www.lapband.com/en/home/

Our goal, at Westfield Hospital, is long term care of our patients. Westfield Hospital is committed to the support of our bariatric patients through the utilization of support group meetings. We feel that weight loss can be infectious. We have seen our patients meet with great success as a result of the camaraderie found at these meetings.

If you elect to have weight loss surgery then you will discover and experience a staff that is compassionate and experienced in the care of bariatric patients. Our operating room nurses, recovery room nurses and medical surgical floor nurses have many years experience dealing with overweight patients. They not only provide excellent care, but also provide clinical counseling.

To see if you are a candidate for this surgery click on this link for a body mass index calculator: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

Just type in your height and weight and the calculator will display your body mass index (BMI). If your BMI is above 40 then you qualify for the surgical options listed. If your BMI is between 35 and 39 then you will qualify only if you have associated problems, such as hypertension, diabetes or documented sleep apnea. These are the criteria most insurance companies accept. Although most insurance companies pay for weight loss surgery it would be a good idea to call your insurance company to make sure weight loss surgery is covered under your plan. Should you have any questions you can refer to our weight loss forum or call Dr. Vitaly Sawyna at 610-437-3585.