Bariatric Robotic Surgery Expert - Abraham Krikhely | Ep. 10
Abraham Krikhely — Bariatric Surgery Specialist
Dr. Abraham Krikhely, Columbia's chief of minimally invasive and bariatric surgery, on what weight-loss surgery does, where GLP-1 drugs fit, and why judgment stays with the surgeon.
Key Takeaways
Surgery does not replace habits
The habits that led to surgery will undo it if they stay. The most common reason weight returns, he says, is that life happens. 4:32
Three operations, three strengths
A sleeve takes off about 25% of body weight. A bypass is better for reflux and diabetes; a duodenal switch does the most for diabetes. 19:28
Drugs and surgery: both, not either
GLP-1 drugs act on some of the same hormones but work only while taken. Surgery's results held 10 to 15 years in Mayo Clinic studies. 24:30
The mirror lags behind the body
After losing the weight, many patients still see their old selves in the mirror and fear it will come back. 31:15
The robot is the surgeon's hands
The da Vinci is a machine under human control. What is new is the data it records: surgery is becoming measurable. 37:44
“All those years that my parents thought I was wasting my time playing video games, I was training my hand-eye coordination to be able to do robotic surgery.”
“It's not about can you do something, but should you or shouldn't you and when should you.”
Chapters
- 0:00Intro1 min
- 0:50What bariatric surgery is3 min
- 4:09Habits come first1 min
- 5:12The stigma around obesity1 min
- 6:20Patients whose lives changed3 min
- 9:48Recovery3 min
- 12:28When the weight comes back5 min
- 17:14Sleeve, bypass, switch and band5 min
- 22:23Fat but metabolically healthy?1 min
- 23:48GLP-1 drugs4 min
- 28:00What predicts success3 min
- 30:34How patients see themselves2 min
- 32:05From finance to surgery3 min
- 34:40Robotic surgery today4 min
- 39:002,000 operations on the da Vinci6 min
- 44:40Where bariatric surgery is heading4 min
- 48:42Will robots replace surgeons?6 min
- 54:55Glitches, safety and age limits4 min
- 58:35The hardest cases2 min
- 1:00:26The medicine he hopes for3 min
Mentioned in This Episode
About this Guest
Abraham Krikhely
Bariatric Surgery Specialist
Chief of the Division of Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, and the Department of Surgery's Vice Chair of Innovation and Technology. An early proponent of robotic bariatric surgery.