Conference Program

Amy Neville MD, MSc, FRCSC
Medical Director, The Ottawa Hospital Bariatric Centre of Excellence
General and Bariatric Surgery, The Ottawa Hospital
Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Ottawa

Amy Neville MDCM, MSc (Epi), FRCSC completed her residency training in general surgery as well as fellowships in Minimally Invasive Surgery and Bariatric Surgery at McGill University in Montreal. Dr Neville currently practices general, minimally invasive and bariatric surgery at The Ottawa Hospital- Civic Campus in Ottawa, ON. She is surgeon and assistant professor of surgery at the The Ottawa Hospital, University of Ottawa. Dr Neville is Medical Director of The Ottawa Hospital Regional Bariatric Centre of Excellence and a board member of the provincial Ontario Bariatric Network.

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Sharadh Sampath, MD, FRCSC

Sharadh Sampath is a General and Bariatric Surgeon at Richmond Hospital.  He serves as the Founder and Director of the Richmond Hospital Bariatric Surgery Program as well as the Founder and President of the B.C. Obesity Society.  Dr. Sampath is the current Treasurer of the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and surgeon (CABPS).

Lawrence B. Cohen MD MSc FRCP(C)
Division of Gastroenterology
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Dr. Lawrence B. Cohen is past Director of the Division of Gastroenterology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.  He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto.  He is a consultant gastroenterologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Cleveland Clinic Canada, Holly Street Endoscopy Centre, and Medical Director for Promed/Downsview Endoscopy Clinics. 
 
Dr. Cohen received his Master of Science in Pharmacology (University of Toronto) 1976 and his Doctor of Medicine from McMaster University in 1979.  He completed his Internal Medicine Fellowship in 1984 (University of Toronto) and subspecialty training in Gastroenterology (University of Toronto) and Therapeutic Endoscopy in 1985 (Wellesley Hospital, Toronto). 
 
Dr. Cohen is an active member of many medical associations, including the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology, Ontario Association of Gastroenterology, Canadian Medical Association, American College of Physicians and American Gastroenterology Association.  He is a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology.
 
Dr. Cohen has received a number of  awards including; the Award in Therapeutics from McMaster University; the Young Clinicians Teacher Award from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre;  the Continuing Education award from the Boyd Academy, University of Toronto; and the Ambulatory Teaching Award, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
 
Over the past thirty years, Dr. Cohen has been well published in peer-reviewed journals, and he has participated in numerous clinical trials in gastroenterology and hepatology.  Current clinical research interests are focused on endoscopic bariatrics; biologics for inflammatory bowel disease and innovative antiviral agents for Hepatitis C liver disease.

Judy Shiau, MD, FRCPC, DipABOM
Assistant Professor University of Ottawa
Bariatric Medicine Fellowship Program Director
Medical Director and Lead Physician
LEAF Weight Management Clinic

Dr. Shiau’s goal is to provide comprehensive care for patients who are trying to be at a healthy weight. As a general internist, her specialty initially focused on the treatment of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cholesterol, and hypertension. She soon realized that many of these health issues were linked with weight management and this was the stimulus for her to develop the EMERALD (Evaluation of the MEtabolic syndrome for the Reduction of Atherosclerosis, Lipids, and Diabetes) weight management program at the Ottawa Cardiovascular Centre, treating over 1,000 patients from 2002 to 2012. In 2012, she joined The Ottawa Hospital Weight Management Clinic (TOH-WMC) to help support the Ontario Bariatric Network (OBN) funded medical and surgical weight management programs. However, recognizing the need for a community-based clinic to support patients, Dr. Shiau founded the LEAF Weight Management Clinic (www.leafwmc.com). LEAF stands for Live.Eat.Activity.Forever.

Dr. Shiau graduated medical school from McGill University, completed general internal medicine residency training at McMaster University, and her fellowship year at the University of Toronto. She is certified as a Diplomate of the American Board in Obesity Medicine. As an Assistant Professor and Bariatric Medicine Fellowship program director at University of Ottawa, she trains future generation physicians how to better help their patients who have weight issues.

Learning Objectives:

To review what current and future medications exist as tools for obesity management in Canada.

Amy Neville MD, MSc, FRCSC
Medical Director, The Ottawa Hospital Bariatric Centre of Excellence
General and Bariatric Surgery, The Ottawa Hospital
Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Ottawa

Amy Neville MDCM, MSc (Epi), FRCSC completed her residency training in general surgery as well as fellowships in Minimally Invasive Surgery and Bariatric Surgery at McGill University in Montreal. Dr Neville currently practices general, minimally invasive and bariatric surgery at The Ottawa Hospital- Civic Campus in Ottawa, ON. She is surgeon and assistant professor of surgery at the The Ottawa Hospital, University of Ottawa. Dr Neville is Medical Director of The Ottawa Hospital Regional Bariatric Centre of Excellence and a board member of the provincial Ontario Bariatric Network.

Learning Objectives:

1. To demonstrate how this new technology facilitates weight loss
2. To describe current indications for placement of the Aspite Assist device 
3. To review available literature regarding outcomes (including weight loss) and potential complications

Jennifer Brown, MSc., RD 
Registered Dietitian | Dietetiste Professionnelle
Weight Management Clinic & Bariatric Centre of Excellence
The Ottawa Hospital | L’Hôpital d’Ottawa 

Jennifer Brown is a registered dietitian with the Ottawa Hospital Bariatric Centre of Excellence and is the provincial lead for eConsult Ontario in bariatric nutrition.  She is a steering committee member on the 2018 Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Adults with Obesity, an expert member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) systematic review work-group on Bariatric Surgery, co-chair of the Ontario Bariatric Network Nutrition Working Group and an executive member of the bariatric surgery subgroup of the Dietitians of Canada – DOC network.  She received a BSc. from St. Francis Xavier University in Human Nutrition and a MSc. from the University of Ottawa in Human Kinetics exploring appetite-related measures and peripheral hormone changes in weight regain after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. She has a passion for bariatric care and obesity research providing peer reviews and consultations for Canadian and international journals, agencies and organizations; and hopes to standardize bariatric nutrition care, research and training among the obesity field.

Presentation Overview:

This session will provide an overview of the ASMBS Integrated Health Nutritional Guidelines for patients after bariatric surgery. The review will focus on micronutrients specific to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SG), biliopancreatic diversion (BPD), and BPD/duodenal switch (BPD/DS).

Learning Objectives:

Participants will be able to: 

1. Identify which micronutrients to screen for pre-and post-op. 
2. Suggest vitamin/mineral supplementation for prevention of deficiencies. 
3. Treat/replete post-operative micronutrient deficiencies. 

Sharadh Sampath BSc, MD, FRCSC, General and Bariatric Surgery
Director, Richmond Hospital Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program
Head, Division of General Surgery
President of the BC Obesity Society
Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC Department of Surgery

Sharadh Sampath is a General and Bariatric Surgeon at Richmond Hospital.  He serves as the Founder and Director of the Richmond Hospital Bariatric Surgery Program as well as the Founder and President of the B.C. Obesity Society.  Dr. Sampath is the current Treasurer of the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and surgeon (CABPS).

Michel Gagner, MD, FRCSC, FACS, FASMBS
Professor of surgery, Herbert Wertheim School of Medicine, FIU
Senior consultant, Hôpital du Sacre Coeur, Montreal

Dr. Gagner obtained, at the age of 22, his M.D. in 1982, and did his surgical training at McGill from 1982-1988.

He worked at the Cleveland Clinic where he co-founded the MIS Center (1995-1998). He was appointed Director of the MIS Center of Mount Sinai (NY), from 1998 to 2003. He then joined Weill-Cornell as Chief of Laparoscopic/Bariatric (2003-2007). He was Chair of Surgery at Mount Sinai (Miami), and is currently Professor at FlU, and senior consultant Montreal. In 2014, he founded WWO (World Without Obesity), for the education and development of metabolic surgery in Third World countries. He is also a board member of ASMBS foundation.

Dr Gagner is known for his contributions in MIS, in particular the first description of laparoscopic adrenalectomy (1992), laparoscopic pancreatectomy (distal/proximal) (1992-93), endoscopic neck surgery with parathyroidectomy in 1995, transgastric cholecystectomy in 1997 (NOTES), laparoscopic DS in 1999 and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in 2000.

He has over 375 published articles, 47 book chapters, and 9 books on MIS surgery. He has held positions in more than 35 societies, and has served on the editorial boards of 12 surgical journals (Associate Editor of SOARD and Obesity Surgery). Dr Gagner was the President IFSO 2014 (International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders) annual meeting and 5th International Conference on Sleeve Gastrectomy held in Montreal, August 26-30th, 2014. He also has been on the executive board of IFSO for the last 3 years, and president of the Canadian chapter of ASMBS, and program chair of ASMBS 2016.

Scott A. Shikora, MD, FACS
Professor of Surgery
Harvard Medical School
Director, Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Scott Shikora, MD, FACS, FASMBS, attended medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and completed his surgical residency and Nutrition Support fellowship at New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston. He then spent the next four years as a major and staff surgeon in the United States Air Force. He is a member of several medical societies and he was active in committees and leadership.  He is a Past President and former Board of Directors member of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. He was also both a Past President and a former Executive Council member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.  He currently is on the Executive Council and several committees of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders.  

Dr. Shikora is an Associate Editor of the surgical journal Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases and the current Editor-in-Chief of Obesity Surgery.  Dr. Shikora has authored numerous book chapters and journal publications and has made hundreds of international and national presentations on bariatric surgery and nutrition support topics.  He also developed and directs the Bariatric Summit, an annual American bariatric conference and The World Congress for the Advancement of Surgery, an international surgical conference held in Israel.  

Dr. Shikora worked at Tufts Medical Center in Boston for over 16 years where he was the Director of the Weight and Wellness Center, and Chief of the Divisions of Bariatric and General Surgery.  During his tenure at Tufts Medical Center, he was also a Professor of Surgery at Tufts University School of Medicine.  Currently, he is a Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.  He is also the Chief Medical Officer of EnteroMedics, the device company that has developed the reversible vagal nerve blocking device, vBloc.

Dr. Shikora has also won numerous awards.  In 2011, he was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater, Muhlenberg College.  In 2015 he was given the ASMBS Foundation Outstanding Achievement Award.  He has been recognized by Castle Connolly, as one of America’s Top Doctors from 2005-2017 and Boston Magazine’s Top Doctors from 2008-2017. 

Dr. Scott Shikora lives in Sharon, Massachusetts with Susan his wife of 33 years. He has 3 children; Jonathan, Katie, and Samuel

Laurent Biertho, MD
Université Laval, 
Département de Chirurgie
Institut de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec

Dr. Laurent Biertho is Clinical Professor of Surgery at Laval University. After being trained in Biomedical Sciences (1993) and Medicine (1998) at the University of Liege, Belgium, he completed his residency in General Surgery (2004). He underwent post-doctoral training in Minimally Invasive surgery at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, USA, and McMaster University, Canada (2004-2006). At the end of his training, he was appointed Assistant Professor at McMaster University. He was then offered a position as an Associate Professor of Surgery at Laval University, to introduce minimally invasive bariatric and metabolic surgery at the Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et Pneumologie de Québec. He is the director of the fellowship program in Bariatric and Metabolic surgery at Laval University and co-director of the Research Chair in Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery. He is also the president of the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons. His research interests focus on 1) the long-term metabolic outcomes of bariatric surgeries 2) tailoring surgical approaches to the patients’ needs 3) the study and development of new bariatric procedures.  He is the current President of the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons (CABPS).

Tony Chetty, MD, FRCPC, MSc
Associate Professor
Pathology and Molecular Medicine
Division: Anatomical Pathology
Discipline Director, Clinical Chemistry and Immunology (HRLMP)
McMaster University

Dr. Tony Chetty obtained his Medical Degree in South Africa. He completed his Fellowship in Medical Biochemistry and Master's Degree in Health Research Methodology at McMaster University. His research interests have a focus on Clinical Trials, New Pharmacological approaches in Obesity and Type 2 DM Mx. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University. Dr. Chetty is the Medical Director of the Bariatric Medical Clinic at St. Joseph Healthcare Hamilton. He is also Chair of the Medical Program task force Committee of the Ontario Bariatric Network.

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Scott A. Shikora, MD, FACS
Professor of Surgery
Harvard Medical School
Director, Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Scott Shikora, MD, FACS, FASMBS, attended medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and completed his surgical residency and Nutrition Support fellowship at New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston. He then spent the next four years as a major and staff surgeon in the United States Air Force. He is a member of several medical societies and he was active in committees and leadership.  He is a Past President and former Board of Directors member of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. He was also both a Past President and a former Executive Council member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.  He currently is on the Executive Council and several committees of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders.  

Dr. Shikora is an Associate Editor of the surgical journal Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases and the current Editor-in-Chief of Obesity Surgery.  Dr. Shikora has authored numerous book chapters and journal publications and has made hundreds of international and national presentations on bariatric surgery and nutrition support topics.  He also developed and directs the Bariatric Summit, an annual American bariatric conference and The World Congress for the Advancement of Surgery, an international surgical conference held in Israel.

Dr. Shikora worked at Tufts Medical Center in Boston for over 16 years where he was the Director of the Weight and Wellness Center, and Chief of the Divisions of Bariatric and General Surgery.  During his tenure at Tufts Medical Center, he was also a Professor of Surgery at Tufts University School of Medicine.  Currently, he is a Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.  He is also the Chief Medical Officer of EnteroMedics, the device company that has developed the reversible vagal nerve blocking device, vBloc.

Dr. Shikora has also won numerous awards.  In 2011, he was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater, Muhlenberg College.  In 2015 he was given the ASMBS Foundation Outstanding Achievement Award.  He has been recognized by Castle Connolly, as one of America’s Top Doctors from 2005-2017 and Boston Magazine’s Top Doctors from 2008-2017. 

Dr. Scott Shikora lives in Sharon, Massachusetts with Susan his wife of 33 years. He has 3 children; Jonathan, Katie, and Samuel

Andre Tchernof, PhD
Professor, Laval University

Dr. Andre Tchernof is Professor at Laval University School of Nutrition since 2000. After a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry (1991), a Master’s degree (1992) and a Doctoral degree (1996) in Physiology-Endocrinology at Laval University, he underwent two postdoctoral trainings in Molecular Endocrinology (Laval University Medical Center, 1996-97) and in Endocrinology & Metabolism at the University of Vermont (1997-2000). He then obtained salary awards from the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2000-2012). His research projects have been funded among others by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Diabetes Association and the National Science and Engineering Research Council. He also co-directed the Research Chair in Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery and is co-director of the Obesity Tissue Bank at the Quebec Heart and Lung Institute. He is currently the Principal Investigator of a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Team Grant on bariatric care, the REMISSION study. He contributed to more than 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals. His research interests relate to the metabolic complications of obesity and body fat distribution, with a particular emphasis on adipose tissue physiology. Experimental approaches combine cellular biology techniques with biochemistry, genomics, transcriptomics and clinical investigation in humans. Published work has involved collaborations with many surgeons from various surgery services at Laval University-affiliated hospitals, including studies on the impact of bariatric surgery. His research allows clinical observations to be linked with the cellular characteristics or mechanisms underlying pathophysiological conditions such as abdominal obesity and related cardiometabolic complications.

Presentation Overview:

An increasing number of studies now provide evidence for a link between obesity and the gut microbiota, a term referring to bacteria and other microorganisms located in the gastrointestinal tract. Among the documented obesity-related differences in gut microbiota in humans and mice is a higher relative proportion of Firmicutes and lower Bacteroidetes content in obese compared to lean, although these findings are not unanimous. Evidence is available in mice to suggest that bacterial composition of the gut microbiota may play a causal role in obesity development. Specifically, microbiota transplantation from obese mice increased dietary energy extraction and body fat mass of normal-weight, germ-free mice. However, it is still uncertain that these findings apply to humans. Potential mechanisms by which intestinal bacteria might influence energy homeostasis include nutrient metabolism, gastrointestinal hormone secretion, gut barrier function alterations, immune system modulation and bacterial translocation to metabolic tissues. Recent analyses of microbial communities found in fecal matter and BMI in humans have suggested that the association, although present, may be of lower magnitude than previously reported. Many additional studies need to be performed to elucidate the nature and relevance of the link between the gut microbiota and obesity in humans.

Learning Objectives:

1. To review current data available on the link between the gut microbiota and obesity in mice and humans. 
2. To review some of the mechanisms potentially mediating a causal relationship between intestinal bacteria and the control of energy homeostasis.
3. To appraise the uncertainty regarding the link between the intestinal microbiota and obesity in humans

David C. W. Lau, MD, PhD, FRCPC
President, Obesity Canada, Editor-in-Chief, Canadian Journal of Diabetes, Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Cardiac Sciences, Julia McFarlane Diabetes Research Centre Chair, Diabetes and Endocrine Research Group 

Dr. David Lau is Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Cardiac Sciences at the University of Calgary. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Diabetes, President of Obesity Canada, and Vice-President, Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Lau is a practising endocrinologist who specializes in diabetes, obesity and lipid disorders. His research interests include fat cell biology in health and obesity, development of insulin resistance in obesity and diabetes, and cellular mechanisms of diabetic vascular complications. He is also involved in population health and clinical research programmes in diabetes, obesity and lipid disorders. Dr. Lau has published over 100 scientific papers in peer-reviewed medical journals, periodicals and books.

Dr. Lau was Chair of the evidence-based Obesity Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) Steering Committee and Expert Panel, and lead author of the 2007 CPG publication in the Can. Med. Assoc. Journal. Dr. Lau was a member of the 1998, 2003 and 2008 Canadian Diabetes Association Clinical Practice Guidelines Expert Panel, as well as the expert panel of the 2009 Canadian Cardiovascular Society Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of dyslipidemia and prevention of cardiovascular disease in the adult. Dr. Lau is a member of the expert panel committee on the 2013 CDA CPG as well as the 2012 Canadian dyslipidemia CPD update.

In 2004, Dr. Lau was honored as one of the top 20 notable Calgarians, and top 50 Albertans for his exemplary contributions to improve the health of Albertans.

Scott A. Shikora, MD, FACS
Professor of Surgery
Harvard Medical School
Director, Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Scott Shikora, MD, FACS, FASMBS, attended medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and completed his surgical residency and Nutrition Support fellowship at New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston. He then spent the next four years as a major and staff surgeon in the United States Air Force. He is a member of several medical societies and he was active in committees and leadership.  He is a Past President and former Board of Directors member of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. He was also both a Past President and a former Executive Council member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.  He currently is on the Executive Council and several committees of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders.  

Dr. Shikora is an Associate Editor of the surgical journal Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases and the current Editor-in-Chief of Obesity Surgery.  Dr. Shikora has authored numerous book chapters and journal publications and has made hundreds of international and national presentations on bariatric surgery and nutrition support topics.  He also developed and directs the Bariatric Summit, an annual American bariatric conference and The World Congress for the Advancement of Surgery, an international surgical conference held in Israel.

Dr. Shikora worked at Tufts Medical Center in Boston for over 16 years where he was the Director of the Weight and Wellness Center, and Chief of the Divisions of Bariatric and General Surgery.  During his tenure at Tufts Medical Center, he was also a Professor of Surgery at Tufts University School of Medicine.  Currently, he is a Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.  He is also the Chief Medical Officer of EnteroMedics, the device company that has developed the reversible vagal nerve blocking device, vBloc.

Dr. Shikora has also won numerous awards.  In 2011, he was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater, Muhlenberg College.  In 2015 he was given the ASMBS Foundation Outstanding Achievement Award.  He has been recognized by Castle Connolly, as one of America’s Top Doctors from 2005-2017 and Boston Magazine’s Top Doctors from 2008-2017. 

Dr. Scott Shikora lives in Sharon, Massachusetts with Susan his wife of 33 years. He has 3 children; Jonathan, Katie, and Samuel

Tony Chetty, MD, FRCPC, MSc
Associate Professor
Pathology and Molecular Medicine
Division: Anatomical Pathology
Discipline Director, Clinical Chemistry and Immunology (HRLMP)
McMaster University

Dr. Tony Chetty obtained his Medical Degree in South Africa. He completed his Fellowship in Medical Biochemistry and Master's Degree in Health Research Methodology at McMaster University. His research interests have a focus on Clinical Trials, New Pharmacological approaches in Obesity and Type 2 DM Mx. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University. Dr. Chetty is the Medical Director of the Bariatric Medical Clinic at St. Joseph Healthcare Hamilton. He is also Chair of the Medical Program task force Committee of the Ontario Bariatric Network.

Laurent Biertho, MD
Université Laval, 
Département de Chirurgie
Institut de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec

Dr. Laurent Biertho is Clinical Professor of Surgery at Laval University. After being trained in Biomedical Sciences (1993) and Medicine (1998) at the University of Liege, Belgium, he completed his residency in General Surgery (2004). He underwent post-doctoral training in Minimally Invasive surgery at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, USA, and McMaster University, Canada (2004-2006). At the end of his training, he was appointed Assistant Professor at McMaster University. He was then offered a position as an Associate Professor of Surgery at Laval University, to introduce minimally invasive bariatric and metabolic surgery at the Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et Pneumologie de Québec. He is the director of the fellowship program in Bariatric and Metabolic surgery at Laval University and co-director of the Research Chair in Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery. He is also the president of the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons. His research interests focus on 1) the long-term metabolic outcomes of bariatric surgeries 2) tailoring surgical approaches to the patients’ needs 3) the study and development of new bariatric procedures.  He is the current President of the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons (CABPS).