Physician's Desk > Dr. James K. Champion M.D. F.A.C.S.

“Weight loss surgery has allowed me to become the active, successful, and confident individual that was hidden below layers of obesity. I have a successful business, a successful marriage, and a beautiful, healthy baby because I no longer allow myself to be burdened by the excuses that obesity allows. Gastric bypass surgery was the best decision I ever made in my life. It provided me with new freedom… releasing me from the stereotypes that other people have about obese people. I’m intelligent, independent, and sexy. What a blessing gastric bypass has been.”  – Julie Hedges, patient of Dr. Champion, before at 291 pounds, after at 147 pounds, and with daughter London. (Excerpt from Before & After, Susan Maria Leach HarperCollins Publishers 2007)

J. K. Champion M.D. F.A.C.S. is a nationally recognized expert in videoscopic general and thoracic surgery and one of the most highly regarded and experienced bariatric surgeons in the world.

It is extremely important for candidates for weight loss surgery to choose their surgeon carefully to insure they have access to a comprehensive wellness program with experience. The Videoscopic Institute of Atlanta, located in Marietta, has a comprehensive team of professionals and has experience with over 2500 weight loss surgeries performed laparoscopically over the past ten years. The practice treats patients from across the country and provides exercise groups, support groups throughout the Southeast, educational material, dietary counseling, lab monitoring for vitamin and nutritional deficiencies and routine in-office bone scans to minimize the risk of osteoporosis. Post-operative office visits, dietary counseling and education, and support groups are covered under the initial surgical fee and provided free of charge to patients.

"We are unique in this", states Dr. Champion, "post operative care and monitoring is provided as a service to our patients". Patients return for periodic visits (three weeks, three months, six months and then annually for life) so we can monitor their diet and progress and rule out any problems. If problems do occur or questions arise, they can return between appointments or contact us by phone or email. We use a team approach in treating our patients providing access to exercise specialist, dieticians, and other support resources to benefit our patients.

Dr. Champion is a board certified surgeon who is a member of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery and a Clinical Professor of Surgery at Mercer University School of Medicine. He has published numerous articles and textbook chapters on bariatric surgery and is an active participant in ongoing clinical trials in weight loss surgery. He currently chairs the committee to determine medical guidelines for the American Society for Bariatric Surgery "Centers of Excellence in Bariatric Surgery" program. "We were one of the first practices in the United States to begin doing laparoscopic weight loss surgery," says Champion. "Over the past 10 years, as we’ve been doing these types of surgeries, we’ve been constantly adding to our repertoire of resources for patients, coordinating local support groups and making educational materials available. We now have support groups in South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia, with two in the Atlanta area. Our educational materials include videos, a notebook of dietary guidelines along with nine weeks of menus, quarterly newsletters and monthly online question and answer forums."

Also, Champion says, it is important that patients who have weight loss surgery follow-up with their physicians. "We have an open door policy at Videoscopic Institute of Atlanta," he says. "We are not here to create a bunch of skinny people—we are here to create healthy people. We want to help individuals get to their goal weight, and then help them maintain that weight for the rest of their lives."