General Practitioners

• Osteoporosis
• Arthritis
• Medical Weight Loss
  To answer this we must remember that weight loss comes about by consuming less calories than we burn. Immediately after the gastric bypass, the newly created gastric pouch is small, somewhat swollen and thickened because of it’s recent surgery, and it is not very distensible. It won’t hold very much. A patient’s caloric intake is drastically reduced – perhaps 400 calories/day! As time passes, though, the degree of inflammation of the stomach decreases and it’s walls become more pliable. Since it can stretch a bit more, the stomach can hold more, and caloric intake increases. In fact, the amount one is able to eat may roughly triple over the course of a year (Although that is still much less than what the non-operated stomach can hold.) More calories consumed means less weight loss. Additionally, as a patient loses weight, the amount of energy required to move around and support those tissues decreases. For example, imagine you are walking around your local home improvement warehouse store with two 40 pound bags of fertilizer in your arms. You would notice a big difference in the amount of energy you are using when you finally set those bags down and walk around without them. At some point, usually between 12-24 months after surgery, the amount of calories consumed per day will approximate the amount of calories burned per day and you weight will plateau. If a patient is unable to keep food down, however, that may be indicative of a problem, and that patient should call his or her surgeon.
• Primary Care
  Special consideration is given to diabetics. Some previously poorly controlled diabetics have “adapted” to blood sugars which are elevated, and when the blood sugars come into a normal range, i.e., better control, after surgery, the patients experience symptoms of hypoglycemia when, in fact, they have normal blood sugar. These patients will simply take time to adjust back to good blood sugar control, and as they do the feelings of hypoglycemia will gradually subside. Conversely, diabetics on medication for blood sugar control can develop true and severe hypoglycemia as their blood sugars are artificially driven lower by their medications. Not all of the diabetes medications have this risk, but it is important for diabetic patients to have close follow-up by their endocrinologist or primary care physician both before and soon after gastric bypass surgery.
• High Cholesterol
• Emergency Care
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Immunizations
  For overall health in cold and influenza season, we recommend that individuals receive the influenza vaccination and engage in every day, preventive measures to avoid the spread of germs and illness such as...

Gynecologists

• Gynecology
  Pregnancy should be avoided at least during the first twelve months after surgery, and during the active weight loss phase. When a patient’s weight plateaus, defined as staying within a five pound range over three months, pregnancy is acceptable as long as the patient’s OB-GYN doctor is agreeable.
• Pregnancy

Internists

• Gastroenterology
• Colon Cancer
  The influence of food on colon cancer has been extensively debated. High fat and high cholesterol foods have been associated with an increased risk of colon cancer. While some studies show that a fiber-rich diet reduces the risk of developing the cancer, others state that it doesn’t make much of a difference. However, there is a general consensus on the benefits of fiber as a vital source of nutrients that prevents many diseases such as heart diseases, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, gastrointestinal problems, and sometimes even stomach and esophageal cancers. The most effective way of preventing colon cancer is by eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, having an active life, maintaining an ideal body weight, and scheduling regular screenings after the age of 50 years, or before if you have a family member suffering from colon cancer.

Endocrinologist

• Diabetes Care

Radiologist

• Chemotherapy
  “Dr. Braswell and his staff have been with me from my breast cancer diagnosis to my chemotherapy port removal. The whole staff is professional yet caring. They have held my hand as I was diagnosed and celebrated with me when I finished treatment. Thank you Cahaba Valley Surgical Group for helping save my life!”
• Radiation Therapy
  While mastectomy removes the entire breast tissue, lumpectomy is a breast-conserving surgery that involves the removal of only the tumor, along with a surrounding margin of healthy tissue. Lumpectomy is almost always followed by radiation therapy and is as effective as mastectomy for single-site cancers less than 4 cm, and is generally considered by many women who would like to retain their own natural breasts. However, lumpectomy has a higher risk of cancer recurrence. On the other hand, mastectomy has a much lower risk for cancer recurrence and is chosen by high-risk women who want to prevent cancer development. Mastectomy can be followed by breast reconstruction surgery to reconstruct the lost breast tissue.

Surgeons

• General Surgery
• Wound Care
• Minimally Invasive Surgery
  The da Vinci Robotic System translates our surgeons' hand movements into smaller, precise movements of tiny instruments, making minimally invasive surgery even more minimal, all under 100% control of our surgeons.
• Robotic Surgery
  Robotic surgery is a procedure that uses a surgical robot to perform the surgery. Your doctor works from a console next to the operation bed to control robotic arms that can move in 360 degrees. This enables the robotic arms to move with extreme precision and flexibility to hold and manipulate fine instruments that are passed in through 3 to 4 small incisions in your body. One of these instruments is a small camera that provides a magnified, 3D image of the operating site.
• Laparoscopy
  Laparoscopy, also known as "keyhole surgery," is a recent advancement in surgical techniques, where small incisions are made to perform the surgery. As opposed to the traditional open surgery, where a large cut is made on your body to clearly view and perform a surgery, laparoscopy is performed through small incisions. This minimally invasive procedure is possible because of a thin long instrument called a laparoscope, which has a tiny camera and light source attached to its end. The laparoscope is inserted through one of the tiny incisions, and the camera relays images on a large screen, providing a clear view of the operation site to guide your surgeon throughout the surgery. Surgical instruments are then inserted into the other incisions to carry out the surgery. Robotic surgery is an array of instrumentation, controlled by the surgeon, that accomplishes a "keyhole surgery."

Plastic Surgeons

• Breast Reconstruction
• Plastic Surgery
  When a patient’s weight plateaus, defined as staying within a five pound range over three months, plastic surgery is acceptable? Typically this occurs between 12 – 18 months after the operation, but may take considerably longer in some individuals. We do not do plastic surgery but can recommend several plastic surgeons to you, or you may have one in mind already.
• Laparoscopic Surgery
• Bariatric Surgery

Dermatologists

• Lesions
  Blood is stools can occur for many reasons and is a common symptom of many diseases, colon cancer being one of them. Some of the common conditions that could cause blood in stools include infections of the colon, lesions in the stomach and small intestine, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis), hemorrhoids, and fissures or tears in the anus. Bleeding from the rectum or blood in stools for any reason should not be ignored. Contact your gastroenterologist for a thorough examination and timely treatment.