Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/970884
IN THE EARLY 2000S, WALTER CHLYSTA, MD, DECIDED THE TIME WAS RIGHT TO BEGIN OFFERING MINIMALLY INVASIVE BARIATRIC SURGERY IN SUMMIT COUNT Y. HIS DECISION WAS BASED ON TWO VITAL FACTS: FIRST, THE POSITIVE IMPACT WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY HAD IN MANY AREAS OF A PATIENT'S LIFE AND, SECOND, THE PROCEDURE – DONE L APAROSCOPICALLY – WAS NOT YET AVAIL ABLE IN THE SUMMIT COUNT Y AREA. "I STRONGLY BELIEVED that bariatric surgery provided great benefits to patients and I wanted to provide this care safely and efficiently to those in need," says Dr. Chlysta. "I undertook the appropriate training and subsequently in 2002 per- formed the first laparoscopic bariatric surgery in Summit County." Since that time, Dr. Chlysta has, in addition to his genera l surgeries a nd heartburn surgeries, performed more than 1,000 bariatric procedures with a 0% 30-day mortality rate. His passion and enthusiasm for providing the minimally invasive weight-loss procedure is evident as he describes his pathfinding way to bringing this service to the Akron area. " My i n it ia l ex posu re t o ba r iat r ic surger y occurred during my surgica l training in the mid 1990s. At that time, bariatric procedures were performed through large, open incisions. Patients stayed in the hospital for at least 4-5 days a f ter surger y a nd, not inf requent ly, ended up in the ICU for various reasons," Dr. Chlysta explains. Concu r rent ly w it h i n h is tra i n i ng period, Dr. Chlysta became very inter- ested and adept at laparoscopy. He was impressed with the results of perform- ing a major procedure through sma ll incisions. The contrast in recovery he had persona lly witnessed in patients who ha d t he wei g ht loss procedu re performed laparoscopically versus those who underwent traditional open surgery was dramatic. "The first reported case series of lapa- roscopic gastric bypass was by Wittgrove and Clark in 1994, beginning a trend in the late 1990s of an increasing number of bariatric procedures being performed laparoscopically. This resulted in less pain, length of stay, and complications for those patients," says Dr. Chlysta. In the early 2000s, there was no surgeon in Summit County or the immediate sur- rounding area offering bariatric surgery, let alone laparoscopic bariatric surgery. Since that time, Dr. Chlysta has been successfully performing the procedure BY NEIL ALLEN Walter J. Chlysta, MD, FACS, FASMBS Successful Weight Loss the Minimally-invasive Way 0 6❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R S T O R Y Walter Chlysta, MD, is a general surgeon and member of Unity Health Network who has been practicing for 19 years in the Akron area. A cum laude graduate of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, he is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons. He is also a member of The Society of Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons. Shown here with Dr. Chlysta is his team (L-R) Nancy Azar, MS, RDN, LD, clinical dietician; Tonya Thomas, CNP, CBN; Rose Fowler, medical secretary; Carol Chlysta, RN; and Sarah Prock, CMA. KEN LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY, COPLEY, OH 0 6