For Lou DiMarco, DO, FACOS, business is booming. As a general surgeon, a third of his time is spent restoring people back to health. As a bariatric surgeon, he devotes the other two-thirds of his time to changing the lives of the clinically obese. In truth, Dr. DiMarco wishes his bariatric practice was not growing in leaps and bounds. “There is such an overwhelming need for bariatric surgery,” said Dr. DiMarco. “I did not know what I was getting myself into.”

Dr. DiMarco always had an interest in diet and nutrition, especially as it related to the liver, the organ responsible for breaking down fats, storing nutrients, and filtering out toxins. “I did many liver transplants and saw the effects of fatty build-up in the liver,” explained Dr. DiMarco. “I knew it was a preventable problem.” In 1996, he completed training in laparoscopic bariatric surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.

That same year, Dr. DiMarco founded Central Pennsylvania Surgical Associates in Harrisburg. In 1998 he performed the first laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery at Community General Hospital in Harrisburg. Although bariatric surgery had been done for decades, complications from this open surgery outweighed the benefits. Word spread fast about a surgeon performing minimally invasive bariatric surgery. “I was bombarded with requests,” said Dr. DiMarco.

Luciano DiMarco, DO, medical director of the Weight Loss Center and the first surgeon in the region to perform a single incision lap band procedure.

Data from 2002 shows that 64.5% of U.S. adults and 21% of children are overweight or obese. “The data is changing for the worse,” warned Dr. DiMarco, adding that the 2008–2009 figures are far more alarming. It is no wonder that Dr. DiMarco opened a separate practice in Harrisburg focused on bariatric surgery.

In the summer of 2008, Dr. DiMarco brought bariatric care to Hagerstown. At the Center for Bariatric Surgery at Meritus Medical Center, he and five fellow surgeons support the weight-loss needs of people from Washington and Frederick counties to Chambersburg and Cumberland.Here patients receive information on surgery alternatives, pre-surgery diet programs, nutritional counseling and education, post-surgery medical check-ups, and support group sessions.

There are multiple factors to obesity, including cultural and psychological dynamics, genetics, inactivity, chronic medical conditions, and a high-fat/high-calorie diet. Those who seek bariatric treatment are typically at least 100 pounds overweight and have been unsuccessful with conventional weight loss attempts such as dieting and exercise.

They desperately want a life that 100 extra pounds cannot give them. “Obesity surgery is about maintaining weight loss forever,” said Dr. DiMarco. He notes that ten years of sustained weight loss decreases overall mortality by 24.6%.

Bariatric surgery often corrects life-threatening conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, or sleep apnea, and prevents new conditions from arising. The Center for Bariatric Surgery performs minimally invasive gastric bypass and adjustable gastric banding surgeries, including a new technique called single-incision laparoscopic surgery. “Bariatric surgery is changing all the time,” said Dr. DiMarco. He notes that two new procedures, the intra-gastric balloon and the gastric sleeve, are on the horizon. “New studies are going on as we speak. It’s an exciting field laparoscopically.”

To find out more about the Center for Bariatric Surgery call 301-714-4044, or attend one of the monthly support groups and listen to prospective and former bariatric patients share their weight loss stories.

Pictured: Jeffrey Martin Small, DO, and Luciano DiMarco, DO, performing bariatric surgery at Meritus Medical Center.