Parkway Surgery Center announced it is partnering with Jaime Ponce, MD, FACS and Chattanooga Bariatrics to perform the ReShape? Integrated Dual Balloon System weight loss procedure.  Parkway Surgery Center is located on the Hutcheson on the Parkway campus in Ringgold.  Chattanooga Bariatrics is one of the first in the nation to offer this procedure which was recently FDA approved and offers a weight loss procedure for people with mild to moderate obesity.

The procedure is non-invasive and is accomplished by inserting a balloon into the stomach, which once inflated tricks the body into feeling full.  Dr. Ponce is one of the principle surgeons who performed the clinical trials.

“We are excited Dr. Ponce has chosen the Parkway Surgery Center to offer this new weight loss procedure,” states Farrell Hayes, CEO of Hutcheson Medical Center.  “Dr. Ponce’s desire to work with Hutcheson’s team of excellent clinician’s on this first-of-its-kind procedure in the nation is exciting and furthermore shows Hutcheson’s commitment to provide a standard of excellence in patient care.  We fully expect people from across the region to use these services.”

Dr. Ponce partnered with the Parkway Surgery Center because it is an ambulatory outpatient surgery center that is fully equipped with state-of-the-art technology including new G.I. equipment.  It is also conveniently located off I-75 and Battlefield Parkway which will provide easy access for the Dalton and North Georgia area as well as the Chattanooga region.

“For years a significant gap has existed in treatment options for obesity with limited, effective therapies available,” said Dr. Jaime Ponce.  “We often see patients who are clinically obese and in desperate need of medical intervention to help them lose weight, when diet and exercise alone have failed and surgery is not an option.  ReShape provides this group of ‘in-between’ patients with access to a non-surgical, reversible option to encourage new habits and lasting results.”

Dr. Ponce has been practicing bariatric surgery since 1998 and has extensive experience with laparoscopic adjustable gastric band procedures and gastric sleeve procedures.  Dr. Ponce is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and served as the Chair of the Bariatric Surgical Review Committee from 2009-2010, which establishes guidelines for Bariatric Centers of Excellence.  Dr. Ponce served as President of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery from 2012-2013.  He has treated thousands of morbidly obese patients and has dedicated his career to advocate and support obesity care by working with insurance companies and lawmakers to establish better policies for surgical treatment of obesity.

For more information call Chattanooga Bariatrics at 423-899-1000.