VENKATESH SASTHAKONAR, MD, JOINS NASSAU UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER SURGERY DEPARTMENT, RESPONSIBLE FOR PERFORMING LAPAROSCOPIC BARIATRIC SURGERIES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF OBESE PATIENTS
August 14, 2008
Contact: Shelley Lotenberg
(516) 572-6055
shelley@numc.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
VENKATESH SASTHAKONAR, MD, JOINS NASSAU UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER SURGERY DEPARTMENT, RESPONSIBLE FOR PERFORMING LAPAROSCOPIC BARIATRIC SURGERIES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF OBESE PATIENTS
SKILLED SURGEON WITH VAST EXPERIENCE OF PERFORMING COMPLEX WEIGHT REDUCTION SURGERIES WITH SMALL INCISIONS
East Meadow, NY…Venkatesh Sasthakonar, MD, recently joined the clinical staff at Nassau University Medical Center as a bariatric surgeon skilled in performing laparoscopic obesity surgeries with excellent results. He will join George Angus, MD, director of bariatric surgery, who has headed a highly regarded traditional surgery program for years.
During his recent Advanced Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery Fellowship at the Institute of Minimally Invasive Surgery at the New York Medical College, Dr. Sasthakonar performed more than 200 laparoscopic obesity surgeries and participated in the management of over 500 morbidly obese patients, while also providing training for medical students and residents.
Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO of the Nassau Health Care Corporation welcomed Dr. Sasthakonar and said: “Obesity is prevalent in the communities that we serve. For some patients, surgery is the therapy of choice. By now offering, both minimally invasive as well as traditional open surgery, our patients will have all options available to them.”
During his general surgery training at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center from 2002 until 2007, Dr. Sasthakonar performed major surgeries of the stomach, esophagus, colon as well as weight loss surgeries 15traditionally performed with big incisions but that can now be performed using tiny incisions and a camera laparoscopic or key hole surgery. “This type of bariatric surgery leads to shorter hospital stays, less pain, a faster return to work and no large scars. Dr. Sasthakonar will now be offering his advanced skills and technology to benefit patients of the Nassau University Medical Center,” said Steven Walerstein, MD, Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Medical Director.
Dr. Sasthakonar, MD is a member of numerous professional organizations including the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and has published extensively in scholarly journals. Actively involved in the development of a “surgical cure” for Type II diabetes, Dr. Sasthakonar is the primary author of a paper that has been submitted for publication on a surgical cure for Type II diabetes.
He is married to an internal medicine physician, and along with their four year old daughter, lives in New Hyde Park. “I am delighted to join the Surgery Department at NUMC where I can dedicate myself to the service of Nassau’s community residents and help obese patients in their journey toward a healthier and happier life following bariatric laparoscopic surgery. Obesity is associated with many chronic health problems that can show vast improvements through serious weight loss and achieve superior outcomes following bariatric surgery,” said Dr. Sasthakonar.
