01/28/2020
Michelle’s Story: Weight Loss Surgery Gave Me New Life
At her heaviest, Michelle Duarte of Rochester weighed 293 pounds and had type 2 diabetes. Faced with growing health problems, more and more prescription medications, and dwindling confidence, Michelle was ready to make a change.
“I knew there was something out there, I just needed to do more research and find out what,” she recalls. Then she found the Wentworth-Douglass Center for Weight Management and Bariatric Surgery, and her journey began.
“When I met Dr. Dmytro Havaleshko and he looked me in my face and told me that he could make my diabetes go away, I trusted him and I followed through with it and here I am a year later diabetes free,” says Michelle.
Since her sleeve gastrectomy surgery, Michelle has also lost more than 100 pounds and gained a new life. But the surgery itself was just one step in her ongoing journey and Dr. Havaleshko just one member of her team.
“Our dedicated multidisciplinary team delivers the most advanced and comprehensive care for patients, including pre-surgery evaluation, nutrition education, and behavioral management training,” says Dr. Havaleshko. “After surgery, patients are provided with unlimited and ongoing guidance and support.”
“The support system I have had for the past year has helped me do so many things and go above and beyond my expectations,” says Michelle. “When I was at my heaviest, I never thought I’d ever do any of the things do today,” she says. “Weight loss surgery gave me new life.”
Every day, we help our patients pursue a healthier, happier lifestyle with personalized weight management and surgery plans. Because our weight loss surgery program is accredited by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, you can feel confident knowing it meets the highest national standards for quality and safety.
Surgeons Dr. Dmytro Havaleshko, Dr. Hany Takla, and Dr. Cynthia Paciulli offer the only fully-robotic Bariatric Surgery program in New Hampshire and Maine.
Watch Michelle’s Story at wdhospital.org/newme.
Read more patient testimonials here.
To learn more about weight loss surgery, we offer free monthly information sessions in Dover & Portsmouth. To sign up, call (833) 936-3963 or visit wdhospital.org/newme.