Southside Hospital in Bay Shore launches bariatric program

Southside Hospital in Bay Shore said Monday it has launched a bariatric program to help patients on their weight loss journey.

The Northwell Health hospital said the bariatric care will be led by Dr. Dominick Gadaleta, chair of surgery at Southside, as well as Dr. David Pechman and Dr. Andrew Bates.

The surgeons will utilize Southside's two Da Vinci Xi robots to perform laparoscopic bariatric procedures, which allow for quicker recovery times and very small incisions.

In addition to traditional bariatric procedures such as gastric sleeve and gastric bypass, Southside Hospital patients, if eligible, can also have advanced endoscopic suturing procedures. These types of surgeries use a small scope inserted into a patient’s mouth as an even more minimally invasive approach to bariatric surgery.

“When I became Southside’s chairman of surgery in 2019, my goal was to not only maintain the hospital’s high-quality surgical standards but to also meet the community’s demand for more surgical options to be provided in their area,” Gadaleta said.

Patients who qualify for bariatric surgery include those with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher; those who have been previously unsuccessful losing weight; those who have a BMI of more than 35 and a co-morbidity such as Type II diabetes or high blood pressure.

New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health is the largest private employer in the state, with about 71,000 employees.