Dr. Paresh Rajajoshiwala, known to patients as Dr. Raja, is a bariatricsurgeon and the medical director for the Bridges Centerfor Surgical Weight Loss. Since his relocation to San Antonio, Texas,in 2003, he has established a well–respected, surgical weight loss programat Southwest General Hospital. Over the past three years, hehas cared for hundreds of obesity surgery patients with a strong trackrecord of minimal complications.
Born in the western part of India, Dr. Raja immigrated with his parentsand siblings to the United States in 1981. He completedhis high school studies in southern California.He then fulfilled the requirements for his undergraduatestudies and received his Bachelor of Science degreefrom the University of California at Irvine. He attendedNorthwestern University’s School of Medicine in Chicago,Illinois. Dr. Raja completed his Surgical Internshipat the University of Southern California, Los AngelesCounty Hospital, and his Surgical Residency at TheCottage Health System in Santa Barbara, California.
Bariatric surgery is the main focus of Dr. Raja’s practice.He has seven years of general and advanced laparoscopicsurgery experience, and four years of laparoscopicand open bariatric surgery experience. Dr. Raja hasbeen Board Certified in General Surgery since 2001 andis a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Since2004, he has been an active member of the AmericanSociety of Bariatric Surgery, the largest society for surgicaltreatment of obesity in the world.
Dr. Raja specializes in the Roux–en–Y Gastric Bypassand the adjustable LAP–BAND® procedures. Both theRoux–en–Y Gastric Bypass and the LAP–BAND® proceduresare tools for weight loss for patients who are morbidlyobese and cannot lose weight by diet and exercise alone. He alsoperforms revision bariatric surgery and recently started offering anew non–surgical procedure called the StomaphyXâ„¢. This procedureis designed for people who had gastric bypass surgery two or moreyears ago and have not reached their target weight, or have started toregain weight. With this procedure, the surgeon is able to revise thestomach pouch, endoscopically, with no incisions, and the recoverytime for this operation is approximately 48 hours or less. The BridgesCenter for Surgical Weight Loss is the first surgical weight loss centerin Texas to offer the StomaphyXâ„¢ procedure.
The Bridges Center for Surgical Weight Loss is a comprehensive,surgical weight loss program. This program is designed to helpweight loss surgery patients lose pounds and keep them off. TheBridges Center goes far beyond the weight loss surgery procedure byproviding a life–changing program that includes nutritional and exerciseguidance, monthly support groups, coordination of counselingservices, and long–term follow–up. The patients at the Bridges Centerexperience a team approach to their weight loss surgery in order tomaximize long–term outcome. The weight loss surgery team consistsof a program coordinator, diet and exercise counselor, medical assistant,insurance coordinator, and Dr. Raja.
The role of the program coordinator is to act as the patient care liaisonthroughout the weight loss journey. The program coordinator helpsto ensure patient satisfaction and success. Monthly support groups areorganized by the program coordinator to keep patients motivated andeducated in order to improve success in the weight loss program.
Dietary and exercise counseling is a large part of the follow–up care.Each patient meets with a nutrition and exercise counselor or a RegisteredDietitian at each follow–up visit. Items reviewed in the sessioninclude the following: meal size, quantity of meals, proteinintake, quality of meals, and exercise patterns. Each patientreceives customized recommendations and tips, accordingto their nutrition and exercise needs during thevisit.
The Bridges Center has a full–time insurance coordinatorto help with the insurance approval process. The insurancecoordinator also assists patients with third partyfinancing when insurance coverage is not available. TheBridges Center offers package pricing that includes: onepayment for the surgeon’s fee, anesthesia, hospital stay,pre–operative, and follow–up visits.
The keys to success at the Bridges Center for SurgicalWeight Loss are the extensive pre–operative educationand post–operative follow–up care. Dr. Raja viewsfollow–up care as an integral part of the surgical weightloss approach. Patients are followed at the Bridges Centerfor Surgical Weight Loss for at least five years after surgery.Follow–up visits typically occur at two weeks, threemonths, six months, and annually.
Patients who are obese are at a higher risk for manymedical problems such as: diabetes, high blood pressure,high cholesterol, heart disease, sleep apnea, stroke, osteoarthritis,and heart burn. Other illnesses, also known as co–morbiditiesinclude: gallbladder disease, menstrual irregularities, urinary stress incontinence,infertility, pregnancy complications, depression, and gout.Weight loss should significantly improve the quality of life of an obeseperson by reducing or eliminating many of the co–morbidities listedabove. Candidacy for weight loss surgery is determined by criteria publishedby the National Institutes of Health and is based on Body MassIndex (BMI). Body Mass Index is a measure of weight and height. Thismeasure is used to determine if a person is under weight, at a healthyweight, over–weight, or obese. Surgical candidates have a BMI of 40 ormore, or a BMI of 35 to 39.9 with one or more co–morbidities. A BMIof 35–40 is typically equivalent to 80–100 pounds of extra weight.
