Patient Success Story

Gastric Bypass Surgery Starts Patient on Healthy Path

“I’ve always been a large guy,” said Brian McMillan of Winston-Salem. An athlete who played football and wrestled during college, it was the transition to a more sedentary lifestyle after college that signaled the beginning of his problems. “I still ate like I was an athlete. As my weight increased so did my health problems.”

Diagnosed with diabetes in 1993, when he was only 23 years old, he progressed from controlling the diabetes with exercise and oral medications to needing 3-5 insulin shots per day.

“We have a family history of diabetes and I’ve seen first-hand how diabetes-related issues negatively impact your health. I knew I had to do something. I had reached 352 pounds and my health continued to deteriorate.”

His endocrinologist referred him to Dr. Adolfo Fernandez, a fellowship-trained bariatric surgeon at Wake Forest Baptist. “I felt an instant rapport with both Dr. Fernandez (“Fuzz”) and his nurse Susan Butler. Those people changed my life.”

After undergoing the initial evaluation, including weight management and psychological counseling, McMillan had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery in August 2004.

Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is the type of gastric bypass surgery most studied and accepted. Considered minimally invasive, the procedure requires 5-7 small incisions in the abdomen to create an egg-sized stomach pouch. Food then bypasses the lower stomach and parts of the small intestine.

Creating this small stomach pouch restricts the amount and type of food the patient can consume. The average weight loss with the Roux-en-Y procedure is 60-70 percent of the patient’s excess weight. The weight loss can be maintained with strict attention to a comprehensive program of diet, exercise, and attention to the behavioral issues of overeating.

“My wife, Nisa, and I feel blessed. Meeting Dr. Fernandez and undergoing the procedure literally saved my life because, with the path I was on, I may not have lived to see 35 or 40,” said McMillan.