Stomach Intestinal Pylorus- Sparing (SIPS) Surgery
By Daniel Cottam, M.D.
Daniel Cottam, M.D.
Dr. Cottam grew up in Houston, Texas. He left Texas to complete his undergraduate studies at Brigham Young University. Afterwards, he returned to Texas to attend medical school at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His residency was completed at Nassau University Medical Center in Long Island, New York. While at the Nassau University Medical Center, Dr. Cottam developed an interest in bariatric surgery.
After leaving his residency, Dr. Cottam completed a two-year fellowship at the prestigious Mark Ravitch ⁄ Leon C. Hirsch Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. During his time there, he performed hundreds of bariatric surgeries and groundbreaking research on inflammation in obesity, diabetes and bariatric surgery, and the training of bariatric surgeons. He also helped pioneer the sleeve gastrectomy as a weight loss procedure.
Dr. Cottam began practicing in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he specialized in bariatric surgery (including gastric bypass and laparoscopic adjustable banding), abdominal wall reconstructions, and complex revisional bariatric surgery. He was one of the first surgeons in the nation to begin doing revisional endoscopic bariatric surgery. While in Las Vegas, he helped teach numerous physicians how to perform bariatric surgery safely and effectively. He also served as a professor of surgery at Touro University Medical Center.
Dr. Cottam is one of a few bariatric surgeons in the West to perform the single incision laparoscopic gastric lap band and sleeve gastrectomy. He is currently teaching other surgeons how to perform this procedure. Dr. Cottam has been recognized as a Center of Excellence Surgeon since 2005. He is proud to offer comprehensive medical care to the bariatric population in the intermountain west.
Dr. Cottam is one of the original pioneers of SIPS surgery. He has published more on SIPS than any author worldwide. Also, he provides training on SIPS surgery to surgeons acorss the country and around the world.
LeGrand Belnap, M.D., F.A.C.S.
A native to Salt Lake City, Dr. Belnap has been a general surgeon in the Rocky Mountain area since 1981. He is regarded as a knowledgeable and accomplished technical surgeon by his peers. Dr. Belnap's interest in the problem of obesity began with his surgical residency in 1974. He received extensive training in obesity and gastric bypass surgery at the University of Minnesota and University of Utah-LDS Hospital programs. His experience with surgery for obesity approaches thirty years involving thousands of cases. His area of expertise not only includes obesity surgery, but also pancreatic bileduct and upper abdominal cancer. Because of his vast experience, difficult cases are referred to Dr. Belnap by physicians throughout the western United States.
Dr. Belnap graduated with highest academic honors from Dartmouth College and was awarded a scholarship to study philosophy in Europe. Thereafter, he began his medical career, studying at the University of Utah, University of Minnesota, University of California and the University of Pittsburgh. This varied experience provided him with training by some of America's greatest surgeons.
He is board certified and is a member of many medical societies including the American College of Surgeons, the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, and the American Medical Association. He is a recipient of the American Cancer Society Humanitarian award, given for compassionate care toward patients. His extensive surgical background benefits those patients he serves and makes him one of the most consulted surgeons in Utah. As one of his students stated "He can fix almost anything".
He co developed the techniques of SIPS with Dr Cottam.
Although his greatest love is surgery, Dr. Belnap enjoys skiing, mountain biking and fly-fishing. He is a founding member of the Snowbird ski patrol.
Christina G. Richards, M.D., F.A.C.S
Dr. Christina Richards is a board certified general surgeon with a specialty in laparoscopic surgery. She performs laparoscopic and open gastric bypass procedures, as well as the laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. She is one of two doctors fellowship-trained in laparoscopic surgery.
Dr. Richards graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1986, and then went on to receive a Master’s in Exercise Physiology at Ohio State University. She received her medical degree from Ohio State University in 1993 and went on to complete her general surgery residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she served as administrative chief resident from 1997-1998 and received the “Outstanding Laparoendoscopic Surgery Resident” award. She went on to complete a fellowship at the University of Washington’s Center for Videoendoscopic Surgery.
She has been in private practice since 1999 and is a current member of the American Society of Bariatric Surgeons. She partnered with Salt Lake Regional Medical Center in July of 2004 to open a Surgical Weight Loss Center focused on excellence in patient care both pre- and post-operatively. Dr. Richards has been recognized as a Center of Excellence Surgeon since February 2008.
Walter Medlin, M.D., F.A.C.S
Walter Medlin grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. He and wife Sarah met at Dartmouth College. He worked as a hospital orderly and phlebotomist, and graduated from University of Washington School of Medicine, where he did research in immunology, and completed training periods in Alaska and Pocatello, Idaho.
His surgical residency training was in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Minneapolis, Minnesota with a research project in arteriovenous fistula. He later did advanced training in Minimally Invasive Surgery and Bariatrics in New York and Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, he was mentored by Dr. Daniel Cottam. He has also sought extensive additional training in Flexible Endoscopy, Colon surgery, and Hernia surgery.
In the past 2 years, he and his team in Billings, Montana performed over 40 Da Vinci Robotic procedures for Gallbladder disease, Sleeve Gastrectomy, Gastric Bypass, GERD (reflux) and Hernia. He also performs colonoscopy.
Walt has completed over 1500 bariatric procedures, and in 2008 underwent sleeve gastrectomy himself! He has battled weight since the second grade, reaching over 300 pounds at his peak.
Amit Surve, M.D.
( Bariatric Research Specialist)
Dr. Surve has been an active researcher in the field of obesity since 2012. He had a
major research interest in various surgical techniques for the treatment of obesity
and obesity-related comorbid conditions. He has the clinical experience of working with world-renowned surgeons like Drs. Kelvin Higa, Daniel Cottam, Mahendra Narwaria, Luc Lemmens, Keith Boone, Saber Ghiassi, and many more.
He works as a Bariatric Research Specialist at Bariatric Medicine Institute,
Utah, U.S.A. Dr. Surve’s research focuses on the Stomach Intestinal Pylorus-Sparing Surgery (SIPS)/ Single Anastomosis Duodeno-ileostomy with Sleeve Gastrectomy (SADI-S). He has published more on SIPS surgery more than any other author worldwide. Also, he was one of the authors to publish first on SIPS surgery in the literature. At 29 years, he became the youngest Editor-in-Chief of any scientific journal. He is also an expert reviewer for scientific journals like The New England Journal of Medicine (invited), The Journal of the American College of Surgeons, British Journal of Surgery, Surgery, Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The American Journal of Medicine, Gastroenterology, British Medical Journal, Surgery, Aesthetic Surgery Journal International Journal of Surgery, The Surgeon, The Lancet, and many more. He also serves as a Member of the Editorial Board of Health Economics & Outcome Research, Journal of Diabetes and Obesity, Journal of Obesity & Weight Loss Therapy, Journal of Anesthesia and Surgery, and many other journals.
In addition to publishing in the top-tier journals, he has also presented his
various research works at well-known annual meetings of the Society of American
Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons and American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). Also, he was an invited speaker for numerous national and international surgical meetings. He is an active member of the ASMBS and the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity & Metabolic Disorders.
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