The single most important event in my life that made medicine my passion was an experience I had shortly after enlisting in the armed forces at age 17. I was trained as a young airman to draw blood in an Air Force hospital. On my first day, I was called to the emergency room “STAT” to draw blood on a critical patient being transported to the ER. She was a young woman who was 8 months pregnant who had been shot 22 times. The surgeons did an emergency cesarean section saving her newborn son and then proceeded to save her life. It was at that moment, I knew that my life would be dedicated to becoming a surgeon. I have never forgotten that woman and her child as I think about them often still.

The most rewarding part of my life as a doctor is the privilege of the doctor-patient relationship. Bariatric surgery is an important specialty that changes and saves lives. Together, we spend many months with patients deciding on the right surgery and getting them prepared for the surgery. Then we spend a lifetime after surgery following up and guiding patients through the challenge of maintaining healthy lives. Like no other surgical specialty, it is a lifelong relationship in which I get to be a surgeon and a family doctor. Good results require compassion as well as striving for excellence in surgery. It is this relationship that makes the specialty so personal. Patients are close to their team, and we are close to our patients. It is rare that a day goes by without having a patient express their gratitude. I always take the time to explain that it is a privilege to be chosen by a patient to be part of the changes they are making that will improve the quality and length of their life. My patients know that I am dedicated to their health and safety.

Areas of Interest:

The comprehensive treatment and prevention of obesity; bariatric surgery; laparoscopic, robotic and open general surgery; leadership in the field of surgery; singing/songwriting; live music performance.

Procedures:

Laparoscopic, robotic, endoscopic, and open general and bariatric surgery including vertical sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, biliopancreaitc diversion with duodenal switch, single anastomosis duodenoileostomy, revision bariatric surgery, hiatal hernia repair, incisional and inguinal hernia repair, laparoscopic cholecystectomy; upper and lower diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy

Affiliations

• The Society for Collegiate Leadership & Achievement
• President of the Pennsylvania Chapter of American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
• Fellow of the American College of Surgeons
• Fellow of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS)
• Member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS)
• Vice President of the Pennsylvania Society for Bariatric Surgery
• Member of the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA)
• Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES)
• The Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons
• American Medical Association
• Pennsylvania Medical Society
• Berks County Medical Society
• Montgomery County Medical Society
• Keystone Chapter of the American College of Surgeons
• Fellow of the Philadelphia Academy of Surgeons