U.S. Bariatric is a Surgical Review Corporation Bariatric Center of Excellence

U.S. Bariatric is a recognized Bariatric Center of Excellence

About the Surgical Review Corporation

Surgical Review Corporation (SRC), a pioneering organization dedicated to pursuing bariatric surgical excellence, was formed to promote the delivery of bariatric surgical care with the highest levels of efficacy, efficiency and safety. In fulfilling this mission, SRC will:

Formulate and establish guidelines and criteria for assessing bariatric surgical practices.
Evaluate and investigate applicants to ensure they meet established standards for recognition as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence.
Collect, analyze and disseminate data in compliance with applicable privacy limitations and other applicable laws and regulations.

Surgical Review Corporation is a not-for-profit organization and has a corporate structure comprised of a Board of Directors, which includes industry stakeholders, and a Bariatric Surgery Review Committee made up of experienced, respected surgeons. The Board of Directors sets the policy while the Bariatric Surgery Review Committee provides the expertise to assess surgical programs, analyze outcomes and issue recommendations.

For more information on SRC, visit www.surgicalreview.org.

Surgical Review Corporation Executive Staff

Gary M. Pratt

Chief Executive Officer

Raleigh, NC

Mr. Pratt, the Chief Executive Officer of Surgical Review Corporation, graduated from the University of Tennessee with degrees in marketing and accounting. Mr. Pratt has started seven successful businesses and was a partner in a national accounting firm.

Walter Pories, MD, FACS

Chairman, Board of Directors

Professor of Surgery and Biochemistry

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

Dr. Pories is the Chairman of the Board of Directors, and is an experienced bariatric surgeon who serves as Chief of the Metabolic Institute at East Carolina University (ECU). He is also the Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded ECU National Center for the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery. Dr. Pories has served as the President of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery and President of the North Carolina Medical Board.

Harvey Sugerman, MD, FACS

Chairman, Bariatric Surgery Review Committee

Emeritus Professor Virginia Commonwealth University

Sanibel, Florida

Dr. Sugerman graduated from Johns Hopkins University and the Jefferson University School of Medicine in 1966. He spent two years in the Army in Nurenberg, Germany and as Lieutenant Colonel at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Dr. Sugerman began at the Virginia Commonwealth University in 1978, where he was the David M. Hume Professor of Surgery and Chief of the General Surgery and Trauma Division. He is retired from clinical practice and is Emeritus Professor of Surgery. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 20 books and 55 book chapters, many dealing with the improvement in obesity co-morbidity following surgically induced weight loss, as well as the first randomized trial comparing vertical banded gastroplasty to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. He is the immediate Past-President of the ASBS and Editor-in-Chief of Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases.

Program Benefits

Patient safety and advocacy promotion: As a BSCOE, the Center helps to promote safety and advocacy. By offering comprehensive services to its patients, performing data tracking and analysis, the program is promoting patient safety.

Recognition as a top performing center: A program’s designation publicly honors it as being the best of the best. In becoming a BSCOE, the program has held itself up to some of the highest standards in the industry. The designation is indicative of the Center’s comprehensive commitment to a high level of bariatric care.

Comprehensive data tracking: As part of the designation, the Center becomes involved with the most ample, longitudinal bariatric surgery database in the world. Involvement of stakeholders: As a participating COE, Centers help sponsor SRC’s activities in developing relationships with managed care companies, medical malpractice companies, Medicare and Medicaid programs, medical device and pharmaceutical companies. This helps spread the message of lowering medical malpractice costs and improving coverage for bariatric surgery centers with proven track records.

Bariatric Surgery Truths

Only patients considered morbidly obese (having a body mass index greater than 40) or those with debilitating co-morbidities are candidates for bariatric surgery.
Surgical options are a last resort for morbidly obese patients.
Bariatric surgery is not a quick fix; surgery is most effective when paired with such lifestyle changes in diet and exercise.
Patients are encouraged to deal with emotional and psychological issues that may have contributed to their condition.
According to the National Institute of Health, Bariatric surgery is the only effective therapy for morbid obesity and its complications. A variety of surgical procedures can provide previously full remission of many co-morbidities, such as diabetes, asthma, cardiopulmonary failure, infertility and stress incontinence.
While complications are possible in any surgery, the rate of complications from surgery performed at an ASBS Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence are extremely low – less than one percent.