POMPTON PLAINS In 2007 Chilton Memorial Hospital will offer free monthly seminars on bariatric weight loss surgery at its Collins Pavilion. The first seminar will be held on January 18 at 7:00 p.m. Vadim Gritsus, MD, a board-certified minimally invasive specialist will explain the two major bariatric surgery procedures performed: Laparoscpic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass and Laparoscopic Gastric Banding. People who have had bariatric surgery will speak candidly about their operations from a patient’s perspective. A question/answer session will follow the presentation. According to Gritsus, an increasing number of women who are 80 or more pounds overweight, and men who are 100 or more pounds overweight, are considering having surgery to reduce their weight. He says they should consider bariatric surgery to increase their longevity and improve their quality of life. “Obesity is a leading contributor to death,” he said. “If a person is morbidly obese, losing weight isn’t just a cosmetic change, it’s an essential life-saving change, and it’s not likely to happen without bariatric surgery.” People who are more than 30 percent over their ideal body weight usually have several life-threatening conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, degenerative joint disease, sleep apnea, and an increased risk for certain cancers. Some also suffer from depression, low self-esteem, sexual dysfunction, infertility, low back pain, knee pain, degenerative disk disease, or urinary incontinence. “Within just a few months of having bariatric surgery, many patients will alleviate or even completely eliminate some of these problems,” said Gritsus. “Recent research demonstrated that weight loss surgery is the only method that provides consistent and permanent weight loss, compared to diet and exercise alone.” All 2007 seminars are on Thursday evenings from 7 to 9, at the Chilton Collins Pavilion and are free of charge. The dates are as follows: January 18, February 15, March 22, April 19, May 17, June 21, July 19, August 16, September 20, October 18, November 15 and December 27. To register for any of the dates, call 1-800-CHILTON or visit www.chiltonmemorial.org, click on the “Bariatric Surgery” icon, then “Seminars” link.