MEDIA RELEASE Hotel Dieu Hospital brings weight loss surgery

MEDIA RELEASE
Hotel Dieu Hospital brings weight loss surgery closer to home
Open house spotlights launch of bariatric surgery program,
hospital’s new status as a provincial Bariatric Centre of Excellence
(Oct. 19, 2016) Hotel Dieu Hospital has significantly ramped up its specialized bariatric
services, adding a critical surgical component that brings the gold standard of weight loss
surgery closer to home for obese patients in our region. The introduction of bariatric surgery
also ramps up the hospital’s status as a provider of bariatric services, making it the province’s
seventh Bariatric Centre of Excellence (BCoE).
Just marking its first month of operation, the new surgical program was in the spotlight at an
open house today, when the public was invited to meet the entire bariatric team, tour the
bariatric clinic and learn more about its multi-disciplinary expertise.
One in three patients accessing bariatric services at Hotel Dieu qualifies for weight-loss
surgery. Previously, those patients received pre-surgical assessment, post-surgical follow-up
and behavioural counselling in Kingston but they had to travel to Toronto or Ottawa for their
procedure. Expanding the hospital’s bariatric program to include surgery was critical to
providing the full continuum of care, says Dr. John Drover, interim medical director of the
Kingston BCoE.
“We know that surgical intervention, for some people, is the most effective therapy for
treating extreme obesity,” he says. “The patients achieve substantial weight loss, reduced
mortality from diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease and a dramatic
improvement or even remission in co-morbidities such as diabetes, liver disease, sleep apnea
and muscoskeletal pain.”
Surgeries started in mid-September 2016, with two surgeons performing two Roux-en-Y
gastric bypass procedures weekly. The anticipated volume for 2016-2017 is 60 surgical cases.
Roux-en-Y is a procedure in which the surgeon creates a small pouch at the top of the
stomach to restrict food intake and then re-routes the small intestine from the stomach to
alter the way the body absorbs nutrients and calories. Patients usually have a short stay of
one or two nights. Selection criteria based on age, weight and co-morbidity mitigate surgical
risks; the program is supported by Kingston General Hospital to manage any unexpected
surgical complications.
“We’re grateful to the Ontario Bariatric Network, Ministry of Health and Long-term Care, South
East Local Health Integration Network and our partners at Kingston General Hospital for
supporting this expansion,” says Dr. David Pichora, CEO at Hotel Dieu.
“Credit also lies with a strong, inter-disciplinary bariatric team that was well prepared for the
introduction of gastric bypass surgery. Patients now have a single team and centre providing
a continuum of care from pre-assessment through the surgical procedure and postoperatively.
Having that care closer to home translates into an excellent care experience.”
“The South East LHIN was pleased to lend its support to the new bariatric centre of
excellence,” says CEO Paul Huras. “This program will ensure that more patients across the
South East LHIN can receive this life-changing surgery closer to home.”
Hotel Dieu Hospital is the ambulatory care teaching and research hospital for Kingston and Southeastern Ontario,
affiliated with Queen’s University. We provide expert care to more than 500,000 people in the region through
specialized programs including pediatrics, medicine, ophthalmology, cardiology, urology, surgery, mental health,
oncology and urgent care. We deliver quality, safe health care, while advancing innovative research and
educating the health care professionals of the future.
Leading the transformation of ambulatory care
L'Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu est l'établissement de soins ambulatoires universitaire pour Kingston et le Sud-Est de
l'Ontario affilié à l’Université Queen's. Il fournit des soins spécialisés à plus de 500 000 personnes de la région.
Parmi ses services spécialisés, mentionnons les services de pédiatrie, de médecine, d’ophtalmologie, de
cardiologie, d’urologie, de chirurgies, de santé mentale, d’oncologie et de soins d'urgence. L'hôpital fournit des
services de soins de santé sûrs et de qualité tout en menant des recherches novatrices et en formant les
professionnels de la santé de demain.
Chef de file pour la transformation des soins ambulatoires
-30Media contact:
Anne Rutherford
Public Relations
613-544-3400, ext. 3380
[email protected]