TONIC WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Consultant Specialist Bariatric Surgeon
Professor Bilal Alkhaffaf is a consultant upper gastrointestinal and bariatric surgeon at Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester - the country's largest upper gastrointestinal surgical centre. He specialises in advanced minimally invasive (keyhole) surgery. Professor Alkhaffaf has further developed his expertise by visiting international surgical centres of excellence in the United States, South Korea and The Netherlands as well as a number of leading organisations within the United Kingdom.
Bilal grew up in Manchester and attended the University of Manchester, from which he graduated in 2003. He prioritises the delivery of excellent medical care for all his patients and believes that this should be achieved through a relationship based on trust, clear communication and an empathetic approach. He specialises in the treatment of conditions affecting the upper gastrointestinal tract. In addition to all aspects of weight loss surgery, he treats oesophageal and gastric cancer, benign oesophageal and gastric disorders, acid reflux, hiatus hernias, achalasia, gallstones and hernias.
Job Titles:
- Dietitian and Nutritionist
Job Titles:
- Consultant Specialist Bariatric Surgeon
- Specialist
David Hewin is a specialist laparoscopic (keyhole) upper gastrointestinal and bariatric (weight loss) surgeon. He qualified from the University of Bristol and works as a consultant surgeon at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and Cheltenham General Hospital, where he established the Bariatric Surgery Unit in 2004. David continues to teach other doctors, GPs and medical students about weight loss surgery and regularly gives specialist lectures and talks to nurses, dietitians and members of the public.
After qualifying, he completed surgical training including The Royal College of Surgeons of England Fellowship in New York.
David has written and published many articles and book chapters about weight loss surgery and other aspects of upper gastrointestinal surgery. He has also delivered numerous national and international lectures and was appointed the first Specialist Tutor in Bariatric Surgery at The Royal College of Surgeons of London, developing training resources and courses for other surgeons, specialist nurses, dietitians and operating theatre teams.
David has a UK-wide reputation as a bariatric and laparoscopic surgeon, having served on the councils of several national surgical societies including the Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery (as Honorary Secretary), the British Obesity & Metabolic Surgery Society and the Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons. He also served as a Trustee of the British Obesity Surgery Patient Association (BOSPA).
Job Titles:
- Specialist Bariatric Nurse
Job Titles:
- Consultant Obesity Physician
- Specialist Bariatric Physician
Dr Andrea Pucci PhD is a Consultant Obesity Physician. He is based at Bariatric Centre for Weight Management and Bariatric Surgery of the prestigious University College London Hospital.
Dr Pucci graduated in 2003 at the University of Pisa, Italy. He subsequently obtained his specialist qualification in Endocrinology in 2008 at the Department of Endocrinology, University of Pisa. In 2011, Dr Pucci moved to London and joined the Centre for Obesity Research at University College London obtaining his PhD in 2011.
Since 2011, Andrea has worked both in the clinical and research setting at University College/ University College London Hospital assessing and managing patients with severe obesity in particular patients before and after bariatric surgery. His research is focused on identifying pre-operative predictors of bariatric surgery health outcomes and he has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications in international journals and textbook chapters.
Job Titles:
- General Practitioner
- Bariatric Practitioner
Dr Jomana Karim is a General Practitioner with a special interest in obesity management. She has extensive experience of working in weight management services and has helped several hundred patients through their bariatric surgery journeys with her expert clinical and practical advice.
Dr Karim completed her undergraduate medical education at the University of St Andrews (2007) & the University of Manchester (2010). She received her Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) in General Practice in 2016. Once a qualified GP, she worked for ‘A Better Life' Health, a Tier 2 & 3 local authority and Public Health England-funded weight management service.
Dr Karim holds SCOPE certification from the World Obesity Federation and has been trained to provide cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for the management of obesity. She is a recognised Novo Nordisk speaker for the injectable weight loss medications.
She has a passion for health and fitness and is a qualified swimming instructor and personal trainer. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her children.
Job Titles:
- Dietitian and Nutritionist
Job Titles:
- Senior Patient Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Specialist Bariatric Surgeon
- Surgeon and Lead Surgeon of the Bariatric Unit
Mr Marco Adamo MD is a consultant surgeon and lead surgeon of the Bariatric Unit at the prestigious University College London Hospital. He is specialises in upper gastrointestinal, bariatric and minimally invasive surgery.
Mr Marco Adamo graduated in Italy, where he also completed his training in general surgery. He practiced six years in Yorkshire, where he was appointed consultant in 2006. He was also awarded MD by Leeds University for his research on appetite hormones and bariatric surgery.
In 2007 he has been recruited by the University College London Hospital (UCLH) to setup a new service for obesity surgery. He now leads a very successful high volume bariatric surgery unit which is one of the most renowned and respected in UK and Europe. He performs more than 200 bariatric cases/year with many cases of extreme obesity and complex reversional surgery. All procedures are carried out with laparoscopic (keyhole) technique. His complication rates are amongst the lowest published worldwide.
Mr Adamo is a pioneer of this new revolutionary technique which employees only a small cut and leaves virtually no scars. He has successfully performed first in UK and amongst the first in the world performing many bariatric procedures such as the Sleeve Gastrectomy.
Job Titles:
- Consultant Specialist Bariatric Surgeon
Mr Simon Dexter believes that patient safety and quality of life are key goals amidst the changing face of upper GI surgery. These goals are reflected in his teaching and clinical practice.
Mr Dexter has been involved in laparoscopic surgery since its inception in the UK in 1990 and was the UK's first laparoscopic surgery research fellow. His advanced surgical training took him through Leeds General Infirmary, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, USA, and the National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo.
Mr Dexter specialises in laparoscopic and oesophago-gastric surgery, and he has a particular interest in laparoscopic obesity surgery, both primary and revisional. Mr Dexter has performed over 1,000 laparoscopic gastric bypass, gastric band, sleeve gastrectomy and duodenal switch procedures. He also regularly undertakes hernia repair and colonoscopy procedures.
He has taught and mentored consultant surgeons across the UK in these techniques and is on the training committee of BOMSS, with responsibility for development of training programmes for UK surgeons. Mr Dexter's complication rate is one of the lowest in the country for bariatric surgery.
Job Titles:
- Aftercare Coordinator Team Leader
Job Titles:
- Aftercare Product Manager
Job Titles:
- Consultant Laparoscopic Obesity & Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon
- Consultant Specialist Bariatric Surgeon
- Specialist
Sherif Awad is Consultant Laparoscopic Obesity & Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon. He qualified from the University of St Andrews (BMedSci) and University of Manchester (MBChB Hons), undertook his PhD at University of Nottingham and completed his surgical training in Manchester, the East-Midlands and London.
Sherif's NHS post is based at Royal Derby Hospital, University Hospitals of Derby & Burton NHS Foundation Trust and has worked with Tonic for the past 10 years. Sherif holds/has held numerous high profile and leadership roles including Trustee of British Obesity & Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS, Nov 22-Present), Council Member & Professional Educational Lead on BOMSS (Sept 20 - June 24), Service Lead of East-Midlands Bariatric and Metabolic Institute (EMBMI) at Royal Derby Hospital (2016-2021) and Honorary Associate Professor at University of Nottingham (2014-2021). Sherif has a passion for teaching and runs the Royal College of Surgeons of England approved senior Bariatric Surgery Fellowship at EMBMI (which teaches senior trainees to become Consultant Bariatric Surgeons).
To date Sherif has performed over 6000 surgical procedures that include over 2500 bariatric surgery procedures. Sherif is passionate about the care he provides to patients and has over 700 5-star reviews from his private patients. His clinical outcomes, protocols, patient letters and information sheets are exemplary. Sherif is recognised internationally as an expert speaker on improving bariatric surgery pathways and safety.
Sherif Awad is a specialist laparoscopic (keyhole), upper gastrointestinal and bariatric (weight loss) surgeon. He qualified from the University of St Andrews (BSc MedSci) and the University of Manchester (MBChB Hons) and undertook his surgical training in Manchester, the East Midlands and London.
He is a fellowship-trained surgeon, having completed two fellowships in advanced laparoscopic (keyhole) and bariatric (weight loss) surgery. He leads the East Midlands Bariatric & Metabolic Institute (EMBMI), a regional centre that provides bariatric services to patients from the East Midlands, and runs an in-house bariatric fellowship training programme to train other surgeons.