Lose Weight After Heart Surgery

Suitulaga “Sugi” Hunkin has been overweight most of his life. He attributes that to his love of food and his Samoan ancestry.

Because of his size, he also had trouble breathing and experienced irregular heartbeat – symptoms his doctors diagnosed as heart disease called cardiomyopathy, which usually leads to heart failure.

Sugi Hunkin says his weight ballooned to more than 350 pounds by his mid-20s because of poor diet and lack of exercise.

After Open Heart Surgery: In The Hospital

“Here I am thinking I'm on top of the world at the age of 27 and all of a sudden I ran into a brick wall, ” said Hunkin, who tipped the scale at 350 pounds by his mid-20s. “I couldn't believe it. I was in denial.”

He needed heart transplantation surgery to replace his failing heart, but before that could happen, he needed to lose at least 100 pounds.

“If a patient is very obese, he bears a lot of risks and complications, inter-operatively as well as post-operatively, ” said Georg Wieselthaler, MD, professor of surgery of UC San Francisco’s Division of Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery, and director and surgical chief of the Cardiac Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support. “And therefore it's absolutely favorable for patients to try and have a body mass index of below 35 before going into a complex operation.”

Gastric Sleeve Surgery

Body mass index (BMI) measures a person’s body fat based on height and weight. Normal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9; overweight is BMI of 25 to 29.9; and obesity is BMI of 30 or greater.

Hunkin chose to help him with his heart failure. Its pioneering Cardiothoracic Surgery program, led by Scot H. Merrick, M.D., was established 50 years ago by chair Leon Goldman, MD, and Benson Roe, M.D.

To help Hunkin stay alive, Wieselthaler installed a ventricular assist device (VAD), a mechanical device that helps a failing heart pump blood. The VAD allowed Hunkin stay alive, but it did not help him lose weight.

What Is A Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

“A switch clicked in my head, ” he said. “I need to get on the ball. It's not fair to my wife and my kids, and it's not fair to myself. It's not fair to the doctors that are treating me. Everybody's doing so much. It comes down to me.”

Hunkin completely changed his lifestyle. He began walking everywhere, he began using stairs instead of elevators and he changed what he put into his body.

“When I was hungry, I wanted a big steak dinner but I realized I don't need it, ” Hunkin said. “All I needed was a sandwich, an apple and a glass of water.”

Patient Success Stories

“It got to the point where I wasn't waiting to eat every day, ” Hunkin said. “I wasn't living to eat now but just eating to live.”

The dramatic changes worked. In just over a year, Hunkin lost 100 pounds, allowing his doctors at to replace his failing heart with a donor organ in August 2012.

“I'm only five months out, but the reason I'm recovering so fast is the weight loss, ” he said. “Your recovery time and your recovery status is much better, if you lose the weight.”

Non Surgical Weight Loss Procedures And Their Benefits

“I'm blessed. My faith is stronger because I got a second chance at life, ” he said. “And I'm just grateful – grateful to my donor's family, grateful to the doctors, grateful to the Lord and Jesus up above. Everything is really good. Life is what you make out of it.”Health & FitnessHeart Attack Symptoms Motivate Local Man to Get Weight Loss SurgeryBMI Surgery at Silver Cross helps Elwood resident live a healthier life after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

When 355-pound Les James arrived in the emergency room with a tingling in his arm and pain in his chest, the 38-year-old thought for sure he was having a heart attack.

“I was experiencing all the typical symptoms of someone who was having a heart attack, ” exclaims James. As he sat in the hospital, all he could think of was how he lost his Dad at a young age due to weight-related health issues. “This health scare to the emergency room was God’s wake up call to me. I had a very sobering reflection - I am my father’s son.

Weight Loss Surgery Leads To Fewer Heart Risks

“I was almost the same weight as my Dad when he passed away, ” said James. “It was at that moment, I knew I had to change my life, so I could be there for my wife, son and two daughters.”

Since losing over 144 pounds after having bariatric weight loss surgery with BMI Surgery at Silver Cross Hospital, James is relishing every day as he eats healthier foods and exercises regularly.

Prior to his weight loss, James suffered from high cholesterol and high blood pressure. He also was sore from severe joint pain, had sleep apnea and Type 2 diabetes. However since his surgery, the only medication he takes are vitamins, and he has absolutely no joint pain.

Weight Loss After Open Heart Surgery

“My life has dramatically changed since my surgery, ” said James. “Prior to my weight loss, I would come home from work and flop on the couch exhausted from the day. Now I have so much energy that in the same night I can tend to my garden, trim bushes, pick weeds and even go for a bike ride with my kids. I have a stronger stamina to do more outside activities with my family like fishing and taking walks.

“My advice to others that are considering surgery is to stick to the food plan because it is designed for you to lose weight, ” James said. “Also you must remove bad temptations, like processed food, out of your life in order to be successful.”

After his trip to the emergency room, James remembered that two of his friends went to see Dr. Christopher Joyce at BMI Surgery to have weight-loss surgery. So Mr. James decided to attend BMI Surgery’s free informational session. “After listening to Dr. Joyce’s presentation, I was impressed with the program, Dr. Joyce and his staff at BMI Surgery. They guided me every step of the way from dealing with my insurance to after my surgery, ” James said. “With their support, along with encouragement from my wife, Lori, and our three children, I committed to the exercise and diet plan and underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy surgery on Nov. 25, 2014.”

Disciplined Diet Before And After Weight Loss Surgery

Patients benefit from a multidisciplinary approach, with the help of many different departments at Silver Cross. “Patients see an exercise physiologist, dietitian, cardiologist, psychologist, pulmonologist, and a bariatric nurse to get them ready for surgery, ” says Dr. Christopher Joyce. “We screen our patients very carefully to ensure their success and safety.”

“Dr. Joyce patiently explained to me that the surgery was merely a tool to lose weight and the real success depended on me making behavioral changes, ” said James. “I am forever thankful to Dr. Joyce and his team. I’m also grateful to the nurses at Silver Cross Hospital, who were so supportive of me and helped me start walking right away after my surgery, so I can begin healing.”

“Les is an excellent example of how bariatric surgery can positively improve one’s life. His commitment to adhering to the program by eating well and exercising was essential in his ability to lose over 144 pounds, ” says Dr. Joyce.

Gastric Band Surgery (lap Band): What It Is, Requirements & Procedure

The American Society of Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery defines the morbidly obese as those with a body mass of 35 or above with comorbidities, or for a normal height woman, being more than 100 pounds overweight. Patients with a BMI of 35 and higher, who are suffering the medical consequences of obesity, are often best treated with bariatric surgery as opposed to nonsurgical weight loss. Those who are morbidly obese are at a higher risk of mortality and such extreme obesity puts people at risk for life-threatening disease, including heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.

BMI Surgery has changed the lives of over 4, 000 patients with life changing surgeries including laparoscopic gastric bypass, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, and Lap-Band and REALIZE gastric band systems at Silver Cross Hospital. Board certified laparoscopic and bariatric surgeons

Brian Lahmann, M.D., and Christopher Joyce, M.D., are dedicated to helping patients win their personal battles with obesity and enjoy healthier lives. Their office is located on the new Silver Cross Hospital campus at I-355 and Route 6 in New Lenox. BMI Surgery at Silver Cross Hospital has been named a MBSAQIP accredited center – Comprehensive. BMI Surgery is also a Blue Distinction Center for Bariatric Surgery.

Gastric Bypass Surgery In Florida

To find out more about the bariatric surgery program at Silver Cross Hospital, attend a free informational session on both traditional and laparoscopic surgery on any Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. at BMI Surgery at 1890 Silver Cross Blvd., Suite 260, New Lenox.

Silver Cross Hospital is a not-for-profit health care provider serving Will County and southwest suburban communities since 1895. Silver Cross has been recognized as a Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals National Award winner for seven consecutive years, a Hospital of Choice by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers and was honored with an “A” Hospital Safety Score SM by The Leapfrog Group. With nearly 4, 000 employees, physicians and volunteers, Silver