Our Practice | Upper GI Surgery | Bariatric Surgery

Interview with Dr Daniel Chan – Upper GI Surgeon Sydney

purpleeffect — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 04:42:54 +0000

We would like to give our followers the opportunity to get to know the medical team here at Upper GI Surgery a little bit better. We recently asked one of the bariatric surgeons, Dr Daniel Chan, to participate in a quick interview to get to know him a little better. From why he became involved in upper gastrointestinal surgery in the first place, to what his favourite film is, we hope today’s blog gives you a deeper insight into the life of one of the team.

Let’s start at the beginning Dan, how long have you been doing this?

I completed my training in General Surgery and attained my FRACS in 2019. Since then, I have been undertaking subspecialty training in upper GI surgery and have been practising in the field since then. My experience includes working in both public and private hospitals across Australia and overseas.

What is your role and how do you contribute to part of the team?

I am a Consultant Surgeon at St George Hospital, St George Private, and East Sydney Private Hospitals, specialising in upper gastrointestinal, bariatric, and hernia surgery. I work closely with multidisciplinary teams to provide personalised, evidence-based care, while also mentoring junior staff and contributing to clinical governance.

Why did you get into the upper gastrointestinal field?

It was the last year of my fellowship at St George Hospital, and we were doing a lot of bariatric work. It seemed to be a fertile field with many improvements to be made and plenty of unknowns. Knowledge was far from complete, and there was a real curiosity about how the obesity epidemic had come about. I figured that if I stayed in the field long enough, I might be able to help work it out.

What excites you about the future of upper GI surgery?

Advances in surgical technology, including robotics and AI integration, are transforming the way we approach complex procedures. I’m particularly excited about the increasing role of precision diagnostics and personalised care pathways in improving long-term outcomes.

Do you do anything outside of work towards UGIS care? Conferences? Research?

Yes – I’m an active researcher and am currently completing my PhD, focusing on the objective assessment of oesophageal hiatus pathology. I regularly present at national and international conferences, supervise research projects, and peer-review for several surgical journals.

Other than bariatric UGIS, what other types of surgery do you perform?

In addition to bariatric procedures, I perform anti-reflux, hiatus hernia, and benign and malignant gastric and oesophageal surgery, as well as complex abdominal wall hernia repairs. My military surgical experience has also included emergency trauma and general surgery in austere environments.

We understand you speak multiple languages, tell us more.

Born and raised in Sydney to parents from Hong Kong, I speak English, Cantonese and Mandarin. This has helped bridge communication with patients and colleagues in multicultural settings both locally and abroad.

What’s it like working at UGIS?

It’s a dynamic, supportive environment with a strong focus on collaboration and patient-centred care. There’s a real culture of research and excellence that makes it rewarding to be part of the team.

What’s your favourite part of the day?

The early morning theatre brief and first cases of the day – when the team is focused and energised. It’s also a moment to teach, troubleshoot and align for the day ahead.

What do you do when you’re not being a surgeon?

I serve as an Army Reservist and am involved in veteran and community organisations. When time allows, I recharge by running, listening to audiobooks and exploring new culinary spots.

Where’s your favourite place to travel?

Asia – I love the blend of tradition and innovation, the food, and the calmness of nature in various places across China and Japan in particular.

Favourite movie?

It’s hard to pick a favourite, but if I had to, then probably The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and that whole trilogy really.

What sort of music do you like?

A bit of everything – from chilled classics to pop, and I tend to listen in music in both English and Chinese (Cantonese/ Mandarin).

GT MagDI System Study

purpleeffect — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 22:00:51 +0000

Are you suffering weight regain after a previous sleeve gastrectomy or Type 2 Diabetes? We’re running a clinical trial where we’ll be offering patients bypass surgery to help them with this problem. Watch the video below to find out more.

We are running a trial using a surgical device that is currently under investigation so is not available for human use outside a clinical trial. The device has been used in over 85 patients worldwide and appears as safe as other currently used surgical methods. Eligible patients, who have undergone medical screening will be offered the procedure as part of a clinical trial. While we cannot foresee what results or outcomes may occur for people in the trial, these types of surgeries can allow patients to lose around 15% of their starting weight by a year after surgery, and an improvement in weight, or Obesity related conditions such as Type II diabetes.

Who is eligible for the study?

Patients with weight regain after previous sleeve gastrectomy surgery, and or patients with Type II
diabetes.

What does the surgery involve?

It’s a combined endoscopy and laparoscopy procedure which involves creation of a bypass between the duodenum and the distal small bowel, otherwise known as a duodeno-ileostomy. This leads to a change in hormones associated with eating as well as absorption of calories from food. Both of these together helps cause weight loss however they can also lead to diarrhoea and nutrient deficiencies if not combined with dietary change and vitamin/mineral supplements.

If you have any questions and would like more information please email info@uppergisurgery.com.au

World Obesity Day 2024 – Let’s Talk About Obesity

purpleeffect — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 03:59:12 +0000

The 4th of March annually marks World Obesity Day – a day that calls for a unified, cross-sector response to the obesity crisis worldwide. World Obesity Day aims to encourage people to recognise the root causes of obesity, increase knowledge of the disease and tackle weight stigma, acting to improve the world’s understanding, prevention and treatment of obesity.

This year the World Obesity Day campaign theme is ‘Let’s talk about obesity &__’. The three focus areas are Health, Youth and the World Around Us, to start cross-cutting conversations and create ways to address obesity together. The ability to see obesity from many different perspectives highlights the increasing need for real change.

If you’d like to learn more about World Obesity Day you can visit the website where you will find lots of useful information – https://www.worldobesityday.org/.

Spreading the Word

World Obesity Day has been operating since 2016, growing with popularity and presence every year. Around the world others are also advocating for those living with obesity. For example, ‘The Big Truth’ is a European advocacy group that aims to promote the ‘real science’ behind obesity and overcome the stigma that obesity is a person’s fault. To find out more you can visit their website – https://obesitythebigtruth.eu/.

Interview with Dr Gary Yee – Bariatric Surgeon Sydney

purpleeffect — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 04:08:48 +0000

We would like to give our followers the opportunity to get to know the medical team here at Upper GI Surgery a little bit better. We recently asked one of the bariatric surgeons, Dr Gary Yee, to participate in a quick interview to get to know him a little better. From why he became involved in bariatric surgery in the first place, to what his favourite film is, we hope today’s blog gives you a deeper insight into the life of one of the team.

Let’s start at the beginning Gary, how long have you been doing this?

10 years.

What is your role and how do you contribute to part of the team?

I’m a surgeon in the practice, and our main focus is obesity. It’s our role to provide total care for patients… whether it’s surgical or non-surgical, that’s how I see it… surgically and non-surgically, I aim to help patients.

Why did you get into the bariatric field?

It was the last year of my fellowship at St George hospital, and we were doing a lot of bariatric work. It seemed to be a fertile field where there were lots of improvements to be made, with lots of unknowns. A field where knowledge was far from complete and there was a curiosity about how we came to have an obesity epidemic. I figured if I stayed in the field long enough, I’d be able to help work it out.

Why are you passionate about caring for those living with obesity?

I think it changes lives. What we do improves the quality of a person’s life. The interesting thing about it is our consults actually provide quite a lot of insight into patient’s lives (for want of a better word or way of saying it). We learn a lot about how people live their lives through our interactions with them, which is very unique to bariatric surgery. We have a lot of conversations with patients that aren’t common in other fields of surgery. There is a lot of non clinical/surgical work involved… for example, a lot of medical issues come to the forefront, and sometimes they play an important part in how we can help the patient.

What excites you about the future of bariatric care?

There are a lot of new exciting medications! This will improve the way in which patient’s long- term weight loss goals can be managed. With bariatric surgery, we can help a patient lose weight quickly, but the problem is that they are not always able to maintain long-term weight loss. With medications on the horizon, it promises an era where we can maintain a patient’s weight loss long-term. That’s actually quite exciting!

Do you do anything outside of work towards bariatric care? Conferences? Research?

We attend heaps of conferences as often as we can, about weight loss surgery, obesity and metabolic disease. Anything to do with any of these fields I would always be interested in. Covid clipped our wings for a little while, but we are now looking at getting back into it. I’ve always been interested in looking at and answering important questions in the field of weight loss and obesity, such as, what mechanisms are involved in preventing people from losing weight, why is there weight homeostasis, and the role of some sugars in obesity.

Other than bariatric surgery, what other surgery types do you perform?

Emergency general surgical procedures, hernias, benign Upper GI surgery procedures (hiatus hernia repairs and other abdominal hernia work such as gallbladders and fundoplications), endoscopy and colonoscopy.

What happens during the webinars? What’s the most commonly asked question?

I think it’s a great commitment-free way of reaching out to patients. Many times a lot of people in the community need something like the webinar to understand and become informed. Patients should be able to be relaxed enough to ask the questions they want to ask, without being identified or being charged for a consultation. I try to make it interactive so they get the opportunity to ask what they want to ask… that’s probably the most interesting bit, as there’s always a variety of questions.

What’s it like working at UGIS?

Fantastic! I think it’s a complete practice, we offer all solutions for weight loss. We’re genuinely at the forefront of the field of weight loss and metabolic problems. That’s the best part about working at the Upper GI Surgery practice.

What’s the favourite part of your day?

Operating… there is usually banter when we’re operating. We have a very nice, reliable team consisting of surgical assistants, anaesthetists and operating theatre staff. We’ve known each other for a long time and it’s a good working relationship; we’re very comfortable with each other and that makes it a very relaxing and enjoyable experience. It helps the patient, as when your surgeon and the team are relaxed and comfortable, things generally happen the way they should. The anaesthetist has the playlist!

What do you do when you’re not being a surgeon?

Uber driver for my kids. That’s basically it! Don’t do much sport, not enough time to do any of those things!

Where’s your favourite place to travel?

Japan. It’s safe, there is something interesting at any season of the year. Everything works. The trains are on time, the service is impeccable, the people are very nice and the toilets are outrageously clean! A bit like France, every region has something special for you.

Favourite movie?

My all-time favourite is Top Gun, but also very close are Pulp Fiction, John Wick and the Guy Ritchie movies. Oh and Aeroplane or Flying High… no two minutes go by when there’s not a gag.

What sort of music do you like?

Classical and classic rock. Pretty much it! I was in Scotland for a year during my medical training – the UK has classic FM (the world’s best station!) and I began listening to it. The more I listened to it the better it got. They curate the pieces really well… this was in 2004 and I’ve listened to it ever since.

Interview with Dr Jennifer Matthei – Bariatric Specialist

purpleeffect — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 04:30:31 +0000

Let’s start at the beginning Jenny, how long have you been doing this?

I’ve been working at Upper GI Surgery for 5 years now, specialising in the management of obesity and bariatric care. But before joining the team at UGIS I was a GP for many years, encountering many patients with the same challenges that I see in my role now.

What is your role and how do you contribute to part of the team?

I work with the nurses, dietitian and surgeons helping patients before and after weight loss surgery, to ensure they are getting the best care. My role involves helping patients to make the lifelong changes they need to manage obesity.

Not all of our patients have bariatric surgery to achieve weight loss – those patients I work with are on a medical path towards reaching a healthy weight goal through the use of other methods such as medication.

Why did you get into the bariatric field?

Although I love being a GP, I was keen to work in a niche role. Moving into bariatric care and helping people living with obesity has given me the opportunity to make a major impact on my patients’ lives in a holistic way, including their emotional, physical and general well-being. I love helping people make behaviour changes to improve their health, so this role has enabled me to do something I really love doing, all of the time. Working at UGIS means I get to work as part of a team (which I also love) while seeing first-hand the impact that we can have on people’s lives.

Why are you passionate about caring for those living with obesity?

When people receive the right evidence-based treatment for obesity, it’s incredibly satisfying to see the change that can happen in their lives as they manage obesity well in our care. If people manage obesity well, it often impacts every part of their life. Aside from their physical health such as diabetes or sleep issues, it also has a tremendous impact on other areas such as their social life, work life or general well-being. The consequences of that behaviour change can be quite profound; it’s incredibly satisfying to see somebody who has felt so down about themselves years down the track now flourishing.

What excites you about the future of bariatric care?

The most exciting things about bariatric care at the moment are the medical interventions to help long-term weight loss and management. As a wider range of effective medications become available that help people manage potential weight gain after bariatric surgery, we are able to improve their chance of long-term healthy weight maintenance. Weight loss medication, as part of a combination therapy, is an important tool for the future.

What’s it like working at UGIS?

I love working in a team; everyone is hard-working, respects each other and it’s a very functional team that works well together. A very positive team to work in.

I also love that the patients come from all over the state and interstate, from many cultural backgrounds and different walks of life. I love helping people from different places and backgrounds, it makes my job interesting.

What’s the favourite part of your day?

It’s a funny thing for me to answer, as 95% of my day is seeing patients (maybe 5% paperwork). So almost all of my day is talking to people, which is ideal because I love people and love that most of my day is talking to people. It is definitely playing to my strengths…

What do you do when you’re not being a doctor?

I’m a mother of 4 adult children. I am married to the Anglican Chaplain at the University of NSW and spend a fair part of my week working with university students and young graduates (18-25-year-olds). As well as helping with the Campus Bible Study.

Where’s your favourite place to travel?

Definitely Europe. The UK, because we have lots of friends and family over there.

Favourite movie?

Something you might not know about me is that I Iove Korean dramas! So I almost exclusively watch K dramas on Netflix (there are hundreds on there!). They’re just really good stories, a little bit more wholesome than Australian dramas but still good! My favourite movie is Pride & Prejudice.

What sort of music do you like?

I think I like Indie stuff, relaxing music. I have a brother who is a very good guitarist who is in a small jazz band and I love listening to him play.

Interview with Dr Jason Maani – Bariatric Surgeon Sydney

purpleeffect — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 04:00:34 +0000

We would like to give our followers the opportunity to get to know our medical team here at Upper GI Surgery a little bit better. We recently asked one of our bariatric surgeons, Dr Jason Maani, to participate in a quick interview to get to know him a little better. From why he became involved in bariatric surgery in the first place, to what his favourite film is, we hope today’s blog gives you a deeper insight into the life of one of our surgeons.

Let’s start at the beginning Jason, how long have you been doing this?

I’ve been consulting for 10yrs, specialising in General, Upper GI and Bariatric Surgery.

What is your role and how do you contribute to part of the team?

I am a consultant bariatric and general surgeon. I spend my time reviewing patients with obesity and metabolic problems who need to lose weight to improve their health. We then help them with their lifestyle changes, so they can maintain their results long-term.

Why did you get into the bariatric field?

After working with upper GI cancer, I found that metabolic weight loss surgery was quite rewarding in terms of the benefits that a patient could achieve from surgery; it can touch upon a lot of areas of their life with just one operation. One operation can help a patient with diabetes, blood pressure, and sleep apnea as well as risk reduction for cancers and ischemic heart disease. But we are also helping their day-to-day lives, from people’s self-esteem, confidence, their ability to keep up with children or grandchildren. The impact it has on families is truly rewarding.

I also like the nature of (bariatric) surgery; it’s keyhole surgery. This means that patients recover quite quickly, and surgery is less painful. The benefits are greatly outweighing the risk of surgery which makes it all that more worthwhile.

Why are you passionate about caring for those living with obesity?

I know what a frustrating condition it can be, as people have tried for many years usually to get on top of it before they visit me. But because of the nature of the disease and the illness, it also means they have probably failed many times and it’s incredibly disheartening… part of that issue is the lack of education about obesity as a chronic disease. We help people to understand the science behind it and how it’s stopping them from getting the results they need. We impact their biology so they have more control over their life and their weight. Taking something that’s been impossible and a big source of frustration into something achievable that they can maintain for the rest of their lives.

What excites you about the future of bariatric care?

It’s an area that is constantly evolving. It is understood that it takes more than one approach to obesity to get long-lasting results. It needs to be attacked from several different directions, and all of those different elements are constantly improving, from surgical techniques to technology. Most excitingly are the medications being developed that support weight loss; in combination with surgery, this development shows a bright future for long-lasting weight loss.

Do you do anything outside of work towards bariatric care? Conferences? Research?

Attend the Australian and international conferences, when I can. In the last couple of years a lot of that was on Zoom! I attend departmental meetings supporting our high-volume approach, as a Centre of Excellence. I also take medical students on and enjoy teaching. The students find it quite interesting and fascinating, as they don’t traditionally get a lot of exposure to bariatric work during their medical training.

Other than bariatric surgery, what other surgery types do you perform?

I also do some anti-reflux surgery and benign upper GI surgery work, endoscopy, gallbladders and hernias.

What’s it like working at UGIS?

It’s nice working in a collaborative environment with other experts in the field surgically as well as our extensive medical and health support team.

What’s the favourite part of your day?

Watching Netflix after the kids have gone to sleep! Only kidding. It’s a balance. I enjoy consulting because you’re talking to different people and being able to offer them a way to improve their overall quality of life. But I also enjoy surgery, as it’s manual and technical… so it’s nice having both sides, the best of both worlds. If I only did one or the other it would get a bit monotonous, but I have quite a balanced schedule so it works well for me.

What do you do when you’re not being a surgeon?

Spend time with my young family and we enjoy doing outdoor activities, games and travelling.

Where’s your favourite place to travel?

Pre-kids used to go to the US a lot as I have family in Seattle and Canada (a lot of my family lives in Canada). We also visit the South Island of New Zealand frequently, and pre-pandemic we would travel to Asia a lot too as that’s quite close.

Favourite movie?

I’m a big Star Wars fan and Amadeus.

What sort of music do you like?

Actually, I like quite a mix of music. I like all the ‘old school’ music from the 60s and 70s like Led Zepplin, but then enjoy the more modern bands like indie pop or house music, with a bit of hip hop thrown in there for good measure.

Importance of Support After Bariatric Surgery

Upper GI Surgery — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 02:45:25 +0000

Bariatric surgery will improve health long-term as it greatly assists a person in losing excess weight. Because it involves surgery and because that surgery changes how your digestive system (stomach) works, it clearly involves some risks that need to be balanced against the benefits. The majority of people understand that this is how weight loss surgery works, but not everybody understands the other life changes one needs to make to see real, long-lasting change.

Each bariatric surgery procedure alters the way the body consumes food, and although each procedure does this in a particular way, the main aim is to reduce the number of calories a person consumes. A few examples:

Gastric band – this will reduce the amount of food someone can consume by restricting/slowing the entrance of food into the stomach and helping them to feel less hungry.

Sleeve gastrectomy – this surgery removes a large part of the stomach, leaving a narrow, banana shaped stomach behind called a ‘gastric sleeve’. This reduces the amount of food someone can consume and leaves them feeling satisfied for longer thanks to changes in hormones too.

Gastric bypass – this surgery means food bypasses most of the stomach and instead goes into a small gastric pouch then into a loop of the small bowel (the jejunum) for digestion. This limits the amount of food a person can eat at a time, creates satiety through hormonal changes and often causes an intolerance for sugary, high-density carbohydrates as well as fatty, oily food.

Regardless of the initial procedure, they are all designed to help a patient lose excess weight and to be able to live a healthier life. But this is not achieved by the surgery alone. Changes to diet and lifestyle need to be made and maintained if a person wants to ensure they don’t regain the initial weight that they lose. Also, patients need to be aware that changes in how they eat and changes in their stomach caused by surgery will lead to significant risks of nutritional deficiencies unless they take care with their diet and vitamin/mineral supplements.

The Role of Family & Friends

The role of a person’s family and friends is so important to their long-term weight loss and weight maintenance. If we think about it, eating and drinking is a way that people bond across many cultures here in Australia and around the world. We celebrate big occasions with special meals with our loved ones, birthdays always call for birthday cakes, summer calls for BBQ’s. People who have had weight loss surgery can still take part in the social aspects of eating, however they need to be supported to eat less while doing so.

When a person has had weight loss surgery, they need to consider what they are eating carefully for a number of reasons. The obvious is that they will only be able to consume smaller portions, and have to be conscious (as everybody should) to consume a healthy balanced meal so they are getting all of the nutrients they need from the smaller portions. They need to make sure they don’t go back to finish meals that they can’t eat in one sitting, and that they don’t compensate for smaller meals by eating more than 3 times a day.

As we mentioned earlier, a gastric bypass patient may find themselves unable to eat certain types of food anymore without feeling sick. But when traditions involve different sugary foods such as sweets, cakes and chocolates, this can become difficult to manage. For example, if your family decides to have KFC for dinner and you now find you can’t tolerate fried, oily foods, it can make things difficult. However, in reality there are so many types of take-away and restaurant food available in Australia that it’s easy to find something that will suit everyone.

Breaking & Changing Habits

Change is ultimately the responsibility of the individual, but the role that family and friends play in this change is incredibly important. A person who is making changes to their diet will need support to be able to do that, for example eating home-cooked healthy meals, having healthy snacks in the house as opposed to high-calorie snacks, and restricting alcohol intake as that is counterproductive to weight loss (for more information see our weight loss and alcohol blog). They will need to make changes to how active they are, whether that be trying to walk an extra 1,000 steps a day or exercising more.

So how can friends and family help to support these changes?

Get Involved – see this as an opportunity for the whole family or household to get healthier. Replace takeaways with healthy meals cooked at home that the whole family can enjoy. If everybody is eating healthy foods, then there won’t be as many temptations for the person trying hard to stick to their dietary changes.

Get Active – start being more active together, for example going on long walks, joining an exercise group or going for a swim. A perfect way to catch up with a friend, or get some outside time with a work colleague on a lunch break. Being the instigator of these sorts of activities can often go a long way.

Be Understanding – sometimes we can forget that our friends or family members are undergoing dramatic changes to their lifestyle. We need to be as understanding as possible. Sometimes people don’t even want to share that they have had surgery due to potentially negative stigma surrounding it. If we can be understanding, then there is a safe place for them to share their journey with those they love. Find out more about the stigma surrounding obesity here.

Encourage Good Habits – you can still head to your favourite Italian restaurant for that birthday meal, but people after weight loss surgery will be more comfortable having 1-2 entree sized courses rather than the usual 3 course dinner. If you’re big drinking buddies, try meeting up for a coffee rather than a beer. If you usually grab a coffee when catching up, don’t order cake to go with it. Small, subtle changes can go a long way.

Bariatric surgery is only a tool used in the overall weight loss journey, support of a new lifestyle from family and friends is another tool a person will need to succeed. You can find more information about bariatric surgery on our website or you can visit our blog where we share many helpful articles about related topics. If you would like to contact us to discuss bariatric surgery options then please call the practice on (02) 9553 1120 or contact us online.

Weight stigma needs to stop

Upper GI Surgery — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 05:41:27 +0000

Everyday millions of people are living with weight issues and obesity worldwide. Unfortunately, the stigma attached is still overwhelming due to a general misunderstanding in our community.

According to the World Health Organisation, worldwide obesity has tripled since 1975 and in 2019 more than 38 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese. In Australia (2017-2018) 1 in 4 children and adolescents (aged 2-17) were overweight or obese, 67% of adults overweight or obese.

Obesity is complex; unlike some other diseases, obesity is still a taboo conversation as there is an assumption that the person is to blame or could simply do something about it if they ‘really wanted to’. People living with obesity often feel isolated and ashamed, some simply don’t have an understanding of health and nutrition, which is why a collective effort by health professionals, patients, advocates and organisations is required if we want to change the narrative surrounding obesity and health promotion.

The Weight Issues Network (WIN) released its report The Personal Costs of Weight Issues in Australia 2020 with recommendations about how we can help to remove the stigma and work towards disease prevention.

Changing the narrative and how to do it

Shared knowledge through experience

WIN suggests that lived experience and perspective should be included in the development of plans, strategies, design of treatment pathways, research, and debates on weight issues. By pivoting the focus towards people with experience, there will be a better understanding about how to treat obesity.

More public education about obesity

More empathy towards people with obesity will help remove the stigma, but to do this there needs to be policies, plans and tools in place to help. It shouldn’t be left to a healthcare provider to provide this assistance alone, it can start at grassroots level in the home, at school or university and in the workplace. WIN suggests that “evidence-based support and/or resilience training to be available and subsidised for those who are particularly affected by weight stigma”.

Collaborative consultation

Government public health communications could benefit from a more collaborative approach by consulting people with lived experience to help plan policies and campaigns. This could help reduce and eventually remove the stigma.

Respect in the media

The media has an important role to play and with more education, communications and information they can provide a better portrayal of people living with obesity.

Dispelling the weight stigma is an important step in the right direction. At Upper GI Surgery we take a holistic care approach so you get the support you need to stay on the right track post-surgery. To find out more about bariatric surgery and how we can help you along your health journey, please contact us on (02) 9553 1120.

Meet the Upper GI Surgery Team

Upper GI Surgery — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 23:06:44 +0000

At Upper GI Surgery (UGIS) we have a multidisciplinary team dedicated to your care. In addition to our surgeons and doctors, our practice also includes nurses, dietitian, psychologist, administration, management and reception staff. The team has gradually expanded over the years as our practice grew, as we identified the need to provide specialist services to our patients. Our team has decades of combined experience in their own specific fields, allowing us to provide the very best level of care for our patients throughout their journey.

Each patient’s treatment and care with the team at UGIS is different, depending on the type of treatment you are undertaking. Most of our patients will come into contact with several members of our team during their time with us, whether it be our friendly reception staff that greet you when you arrive for your appointment, or asking one of our nurses a quick question over the phone.

Our Nurses

Introducing Debra and Tania. Debra is a registered nurse and our Practice Manager. Debra has a diverse role here at UGIS; her area of expertise includes esophageal manometry and reflux testing, whilst carrying out the important role of managing the practice day-to-day and co-ordinating our patient care processes.

Tania is also a registered nurse, with years of experience in bariatric and gastrointestinal surgery. Tania is your clinical point of contact, the voice on the phone and the person in charge of coordinating your hospital stay as well as early recovery. In addition to her day-to-day care of patients, Tania also coordinates our research projects.

Our Dietitian

Bariatric surgery is only one part of a patient’s journey towards a healthier lifestyle. Following a post-bariatric surgery diet is key not only in recovery, but also for losing and maintaining weight loss in the weeks, months and years to come. Introducing another Tania on our team. Tania C is an Accredited Practicing Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist. Tania guides our bariatric patients through their new diet following bariatric surgery, with over 10 years experience in weight loss and weight management for bariatric patients. Read more about Tania here.

Our Psychologist

Making positive, deep-rooted changes in your life when seeking obesity treatment can be challenging. Our psychologist Fiona provides counselling and assists our patients to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. Like Tania, Fiona has over 10 years experience in working alongside bariatric patients helping them to develop and maintain positive change. Read more about Fiona here.

Our Reception Team

Meet Rosanna and Gina, who manage the busy UGIS reception desk in our main practice at St George Private Hospital, Kogarah. It’s not an easy task managing the appointments of such a big team, not to mention answering calls and queries throughout the day, but the team makes sure our patients are looked after at all times and are at the heart of the UGIS practice.

Our Admin and Management

Although you may not see them or speak to them very often, they are most definitely there making sure that everything is running as smoothly as possible in the background. Heidi is the Business Manager (yes, even a surgery practice needs a general business manager), who makes sure that everybody is singing from the same hymn sheet. Whether it be coordinating team activities, working hard on the website, finding innovative ways to improve the surgery processes, Heidi is at the centre of it all. And then there is Kim. You might speak to Kim on the phone as she is the mastermind behind organising patient payments in addition to general day to day office administration.

You can read more about each of our team on our Support Team page on the website. We like to think of each of the UGIS team as an important cog in a well oiled machine, allowing us to continue to provide exceptional levels of care to all of our patients.

Meet the Upper GI Surgery Surgeons

Upper GI Surgery — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 07:08:40 +0000

At Upper GI Surgery we have a multidisciplinary team dedicated to our patients ensuring they are provided with the best standard of care possible, whether that be for bariatric surgery, reflux, hernia or any of our other treatment options. Each member of our team is here to support the group of doctors at the practice, and today we would like to introduce you to each of our surgeons.

Associate Professor Michael Talbot

Dr Talbot founded the Upper GI Surgery practice in 2003. He is a specialist in Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery, Bariatric Surgery, therapeutic Endoscopy/ERCP, Oesophageal Physiology and Reflux.

Dr Talbot regularly consults at many clinics in NSW; the main practice is in St George Private Hospital (Kogarah, Sydney) and he also consults at St Vincent’s Clinic (Darlinghurst, Sydney), Illawarra Family Medical Centre (Wollongong) and Orange Day Surgery Centre (Orange).

During his career, Dr Talbot has been a pioneer of complex bariatric surgery and has for the last decade had the highest caseload of complex revisional bariatric surgery in NSW. Find out more about Dr Talbot by viewing his profile or watch his video.

Dr Gary Yee

Dr Yee joined the team at Upper GI Surgery in 2013. Dr Yee is a specialist in Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery and Bariatric Surgery, with an interest in research.

Dr Yee regularly consults at the main practice location St George Private Hospital (Kogarah, Sydney), and also at the Sutherland Hospital (Caringbah, Sydney), Kareena Private Hospital (Caringbah, Sydney), Illawarra Family Medical Centre (Wollongong) and Bungendore (regional NSW).

Dr Yee performs a range of different bariatric surgery procedures including gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass surgery. Find out more about Dr Yee by viewing his profile or watch his video.

Dr Jason Maani

Dr Maani joined the team at Upper GI Surgery in 2016. Dr Maani is a specialist in Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery and Bariatric Surgery, with an interest in research.

Dr Maani regularly consults at the main practice location St George Private Hospital (Kogarah, Sydney), Illawarra Family Medical Centre (Wollongong) and the Sydney Private Hospital (Ashfield, Sydney).

Dr Maani performs a range of Bariatric surgery procedures including sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass and gastric banding. Find out more about Dr Maani by viewing his profile or watch his video.

If you would like to make an appointment to speak to any of our surgeons about the treatments that they can offer, please contact our team today on (02) 9553 1120.