Hazem N. Shamseddeen, M.D.,joins Indy Southside Surgical with St. Francis Medical Group

INDIANAPOLIS – Hazem N. Shamseddeen, M.D., has established a practice with St. Francis Medical Group Indy Southside Surgical.

Certified by the American Board of Surgery, he specializes in general and bariatric surgery/medicine. Shamseddeen recently completed a fellowship at the University of California-Davis, where he performed hundreds of bariatric and minimally invasive procedures, including the use of the Da Vinci Robotics technology.

Shamseddeen earned his medical degree and completed an internship at Beirut Arab University. He was a resident at the American University of Beirut and later completed a surgical residency at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Long Island, N.Y.

He joins a team of five other physicians at Indy Southside Surgical, whom collectively have more than 80 years of experience offering a wide range of general and specialized procedures (invasive and non-invasive). The surgeons include David Mandelbaum, M.D., Jonathan Mandelbaum, M.D., Donald King, M.D., Matthew Libke, M.D., and Mark Edwards, M.D.

St. Francis Medical Group Indy Southside Surgical has locations at 5255 E. Stop 11 Road,

To learn more about this surgical practice, go to http://stfrancishospitals.org/SFMG/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=437

Led by President Isaac J. Myers II, M.D., St. Francis Medical Group is a multidisciplinary group of physicians throughout central Indiana. These physicians offer a variety of primary care and specialty care services and all practice at Franciscan St. Francis Health.

To learn more about St. Francis Medical Group, go to http://www.stfrancisdoctors.org/.

Suite 450

, Indianapolis; and

1203 E. Hadley Road, Suite 204

, Mooresville.

‘Emotional Eating’ support on menu at St. Francis Weight Loss Center

INDIANAPOLIS – Occasional “emotional eating” isn't a problem for most people. After all, that's what makes comfort food so appealing. But turning to food every time a person has unpleasant feelings – or even positive ones – can lead to weight gain.

The holidays provide additional opportunities and temptations for emotionally-charged eating, which is why the St. Francis Weight Loss Center will offer its six-week Emotional Eating Support Group beginning Nov. 15.

The Emotional Eating Support Group at the St. Francis Weight Loss Center is for anyone trying to lose weight and struggling with emotional overeating, also known as compulsive overeating or binge eating. This group offers support to patients struggling with emotional eating, or using food for reasons other than physical hunger and feeling unable to stop the behavior.

The latest session gets under way 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, with each session held Tuesdays at the St. Francis Weight Loss Center, 5230-A E. Stop 11 Road, across Stop 11 Road from the Franciscan St. Francis Health-Indianapolis campus. Cost is $60 for the six-week program.

The groups will be led by Cheryl A. Moore, LCSW, a therapist at the St. Francis Weight Loss Center. Moore has extensive experience providing individual, couples, family and group therapy to patients with eating, mental health, addiction and PTSD issues.

There is a fee for those registering for the program. Call 317-528-7525 or visit StFrancisHospitals.org/weightloss for additional information.

Program offers insight into bariatric surgery process

While exercise and healthy eating are good for your long-range health, it may not be all you need to succeed at weight loss. St. Francis Weight Loss Center offers surgical options for individuals who have been unsuccessful losing weight with other methods and who are more than 100 pounds overweight.
The decision to have surgery should not be taken lightly. By providing information and answering questions, the St. Francis Weight Loss Center staff will help you make an educated decision about surgery.

Learn more about the bariatric surgery program available through Franciscan St. Francis Health by attending one of its free upcoming information sessions. Dates this spring include:

• Tuesday, May 10
• Tuesday, May 24

All sessions will be held at 5:15 p.m. at the St. Francis Weight Loss Center, 5230-A E. Stop 11 Road, just north of St. Francis Health-Indianapolis.  

For more information or to register, call (317) 782-4422. Or register online at StFrancisHospitals.org/weightloss.

 

 

 

 

 

McCordsville man finds new life cycle at St. Francis Weight Loss Center

INDIANAPOLIS – Nearly 250 pounds and 1,500 miles. It’s been one incredible ride for Eddie Miller.

Miller, a resident of McCordsville on Indianapolis’ far northeast side, battled weight his entire life. An athlete in high school, he started gaining weight after getting married. Diets didn’t work. The pounds added up, and at one point he pushed the scales at 430.

“When you are 400 pounds, everyday stuff like tying your shoes is hard, and people take stuff for granted,” he said. “I was actually ready to fold my business because it was too hard to do the work. Too hard to get new work. Too much energy. It was just going to be easier to close it down.”

Instead, he followed the footsteps of his wife, four sisters and mother, all of whom had bariatric surgery. “I was familiar and comfortable with the process, so I decided to give it a try,” he said.

He called the St. Francis Weight Loss Center.

“The weeks leading up to the surgery were sheer excitement,” he said. “I was just really ready to start my new life. Ready to get up out of that bed and start walking again. I wasn’t scared; I had faith in my doctors and felt like I was prepared and had done everything right.

“There’s a real comfort knowing that they’re behind you. As long as I did what I was supposed to, they were with me all the way.”

Losing pounds, gaining miles
Miller’s biggest fear of bariatric surgery was having loose skin that can occur after rapid weight loss. He quickly turned to exercise as a solution.

“I started out walking, and then after a while I couldn’t get my heart rate high enough, so I started running,” he said. “I was running two, three, four miles on the treadmill or outside, but I don’t love to run. So, some buddies of mine were into cycling and invited me to join them. I bought a bike and went to town.”

He was hooked. Last summer, 18 months after surgery and nearly 250 pounds lighter, Miller participated in Ride Across Indiana (RAIN), a grueling 163-mile bike ride across Indiana.

In late October, he’ll ride in the annual “Hilly Hundred” in Bloomington with 5,000 other cyclists, and he plans to participating in the Biking Across Kansas ride in 2010.

Miller still coordinates care with his physicians and dietitian at the Weight Loss Center.

“Surgery’s not a magic wand – it’s all on you, and it certainly is a tool that works, if you use it properly,” he said. “Right now, my BMI is perfect, and my doctor mandated that I don’t lose any more weight. I have learned since having the surgery that I don’t get hungry unless I’m sitting, so I always try to keep busy – coaching, playing with my dogs. I’ve always been a happy, active guy, even when I was overweight. But now the weight loss has created a new animal.”

To learn more about services offered at the St. Francis Weight Loss Center, go to http://www.stfrancishospitals.org/weightloss.

Weight Loss, Diabetes and Integrative Health Centers move to new location

INDIANAPOLIS – The St. Francis Weight Loss Center and the Franciscan Center for Integrative Health have moved to their new location at 5230A E. Stop 11 Road, Indianapolis, 46237.

The expanded offices are across Stop 11 Road from St. Francis Hospital – Indianapolis, west of the Indiana Heart Physicians building.

The St. Francis Diabetes & Endocrinology Center treats adult patients with diabetes or endocrine disorders. The center offers an extensive list of diabetes education programs, recognized by the American Diabetes Association. The diabetes center can be reached at (317) 865-5904.

The Franciscan Center for Integrative Health uses both conventional treatments, as well as “complementary” or “alternative” therapies to provide care for patients. Health and healing are based upon addressing patients’ physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, as well as examining the impact of their connections within the community. The Franciscan Center can be reached at (317) 788-0907 or visit stfrancishospitals.org/altmed.

The St. Francis Weight Loss Center is an American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. The center offers medical and surgical treatments for obesity, including physician-supervised weight loss, LAP-BAND, gastric bypass, gastric sleeve, group weight management programs and StomaphyX. Call (317) 782-7525 or visit stfrancishospitals.org/weightloss.

Incisionless procedure gives bariatric patients second chance

INDIANAPOLIS – A new incisionless procedure, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year, can help gastric bypass patients lose unwanted pounds they have regained since their initial weight-loss surgeries.

Bariatric surgeons at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers are among the first in Indiana to offer StomaphyX™. The outpatient procedure uses a tube passed through the mouth – and no surgical incisions.

During the procedure, approximately 12 to 20 H-shaped, staple-like fasteners are placed strategically in the stomach to create pleats in the tissue and to reduce the size of the stomach’s pouch.

“StomaphyX™ recreates the patient’s smaller stomach, causing the patient to feel full quicker and experience further weight loss,” said Jonathan Mandelbaum, M.D., surgical co-director of the St. Francis Weight Loss Center. “This is currently the only endoscopic or non-surgical way to reduce the size of the stomach after gastric bypass surgery. It is far less risky than a surgical revision of gastric bypass.”

Mandelbaum said the key advantages of the precision include no incisions or scars, less pain, a lower rate of complications compared to the traditional revisional bariatric surgery and a quicker recovery.

Following the procedure, patients follow a traditional post-bariatric surgery diet, but have no physical activity restrictions.

Good candidates for StomaphyX™are those who have undergone gastric bypass for obesity, have regained some of the weight they had lost, are compliant with their diet, continue to exercise regularly and do not feel full early during meals, Mandelbaum said.

“The procedure can give patients a tool to help them achieve their weight-loss goal and prevent obesity-related problems. We still depend on patients being compliant with exercise and diet for this procedure to be successful,” Mandlebaum said.

The St. Francis Weight Loss Center, an American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence, also provides gastric bypass, Lap-BandTM and gastric sleeve procedures for the surgical management of obesity.
Contact the center by calling 317-782-7525, or visit StFrancisHospitals.org/weightloss.

‘Medical and SurgicalWeight Loss’ information session scheduled in Lafayette

Lafayette, Ind. -- Physicians and staff representatives from the St. Francis Weight Loss Center will present two community education programs on “Medical and Surgical Weight Loss” on Wednesday, June 18, at St. Elizabeth's Katherine Weil Education Center.

The first session will start at noon and include lunch. The evening session will start at 6:30 p.m.

The St. Francis Weight Loss Center, located on the south side of Indianapolis, provides surgical and physician-monitored weight loss solutions, including Sleeve Gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery and Lap-Band surgery and fills, as well as nutrition and behavioral counseling.

Since 2002, the center and its staff have helped more than 1,000 Hoosiers achieve a healthier weight and life through its weight management services.

The St. Francis Weight Loss Center was named a Center of Excellence by the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery in 2007. This recognizes the safety, efficiency and overall positive surgical results of the bariatric surgical program at St. Francis. The ASMBS Center of Excellence designation is awarded to surgical programs with a demonstrated track record of favorable outcomes in bariatric surgery.

For more information on the services, please visit www.stfrancishospitals.org/weightloss.

The program will be held at the Kathryn Weil Center for Education located inside the Medical Arts Building at 415 N. 26th St., Suite 400 in Lafayette. For your convenience, reserved parking will be available on the second level of the Home Hospital parking garage.

These programs are free, but registration is required. To register or for more information, call the Kathryn Weil Center for Education at (765) 449-5133.

Nurse assumes manager’s role at St. Francis Weight Loss Center

INDIANAPOLIS – Pamela A. Fugate, R.N., has been appointed manager of the St. Francis Weight Loss Center.

She comes to the center from Cooperative Managed Care Services of Indianapolis, where she was responsible for support nursing staff utilization of government and private health plans. Prior to that, she was a nurse in the emergency department at Community Hospitals of Indianapolis.

Fugate was an advance case manager for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield from 2003 to 2005, and was previously served as director of quality assurance for Community Physicians of Indiana.

Fugate recently earned a master’s in nursing at Anderson University and is expected to complete a master’s in business administration from that institution in May. She received her bachelor’s degree in nursing at the Indiana University School of Nursing and an associate’s in medical assisting at Tampa College in Florida.

She holds memberships in several professional organizations and has received numerous academic and community service honors.

More information about the St. Francis Weight Loss Center and surgical procedures is at www.stfrancishospitals.org/Weightloss.

‘Sleeve’ procedure offers unique option in weight-loss surgery

INDIANAPOLIS – Some patients seeking a surgical solution to weight loss have another alternative to consider now offered at the St. Francis Weight Loss Center.

It’s called the sleeve gastrectomy, an operation that removes part of the stomach and resizes it roughly to the shape and size of a banana. The smaller stomach helps patients become full faster when eating and decreases the appetite sensation.

“The sleeve gastrectomy doesn’t involve rerouting or reconnecting of intestines and is a simpler procedure than the gastric bypass or the duodenal switch,” said Jonathan Mandelbaum, M.D., the center’s surgical co-director. “Unlike the Lap-Band, the sleeve gastroectomy doesn’t require implanting an artificial device inside the abdomen.”

Sleeve gastretcomies are recognized as a first and single procedure for weight loss because it can achieve more than 50 percent excess weight loss in as little as 18 months.

For certain patients, in particular those with a body mass index greater than 60, the sleeve gastrectomy may be the first part of a two-stage operation. Patients may safely lose up to 100 to 150 pounds in a six-to-12 month period, at which point the weight loss may plateau and other procedures become less risky.

Both stages of the surgery can be performed laparoscopically – minimally invasive surgery – and offers the advantages of shorter recovery time, shorter incisions, and fewer incision-related problems and less pain.

Within one to two years after a sleeve gastrectomy, patients in medical studies have shown resolution for conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and sleep apnea.

St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is a nationally recognized as a Center of Excellence for bariatric surgery by the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery. This honor recognizes quality surgical programs around the country.

More information about the St. Francis Weight Loss Center and surgical procedures is at www.stfrancishospitals.org/Weightloss.

St. Francis program offers healthier resolution for New Year

INDIANAPOLIS – We all know the importance of eating right and exercising for good health. But sometimes we stumble on the roadblocks in our path to success, and we just need a little support to help maintain a healthy lifestyle.

That’s what makes the St. Francis Eat for Life Wellness Program unique. The 10-week, comprehensive weight management program teaches skills needed to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

The latest program gets under way 6 p.m., Jan. 9, 2008, with each session held Wednesdays at the St. Francis Weight Loss Center, 700 E. Southport Rd.

“Our program is designed by a team of physicians and registered dietitians, the program focuses on making long-tem changes in your lifestyle,” said Kim Peters, R.N., of the St. Francis Weight Loss Center.

Each sessions offer group discussions on a variety of topics, including: creating a plan for balanced eating, understanding food labels, changing your behaviors, maintaining motivation, dining out, determining portion sizes, menu planning, grocery shopping, exercise and nutrition facts and fiction.

“The key to success is having the right knowledge and tools – and knowing how to use them,” said Peters. “Beyond the weekly class meetings, participants will have access to continued support and unlimited weigh-ins to help keep you on the road to lifelong success.”

There is a fee for those registering for the program. Call 317-782-7525 or e-mail weightloss@ssfhs.org.

Information about the St. Francis Weight Loss Center is at www.stfrancishospitals.org/weightloss.