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Tucson Bariatric
Tucson, AZ
Phone
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About
Bio
Board certified general surgeon with advanced specialty training in Minimally Invasive, Robotic and Bariatric Surgery.
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Bariatrics
General Surgery
Doctor Q&A
131 Answers
223 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
About a month : I generally have my patients resume light activity in about a week. But they are to avoid heavy lifting or strenuous activity for at least a month. Bu... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Common problem : Dumping syndrome is a known side effect of gastric bypass surgery. It can usually be controlled with diet modifications. There are some medicines that... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 30-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
For a while: If they had to cut out some bowel because of the blockage then usually I have my patients on liquids for a few days then soft foods for about a week t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 53-year-old female asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Bands slip: A gastric sleeve is a procedure where you remove 80% of your stomach making it into the shape of a shirt sleeve (hence the name). So there is nothing ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Very good: Bariatric surgery has a success rate of about 80-90% for significant weight loss and maintaining that weight loss. Diet and exercise has a success rat... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old male asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Yes: After a surgery like the sleeve it not uncommon for your hormone balance to be thrown out of whack. So it is not uncommon for you to have breakthrough... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old male asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Body Mass Index: Bmi or body mass index is how we define if a person is under or overweight. It is calculated my taking your height in meters and dividing it by your w... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
No: A lap band is a device that wraps around the top of your stomach used to treat obesity. A fundoplication wraps the top of your stomach around itself t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Be careful: There are many good surgeons abroad, however, performing the surgery is the easy part of bariatrics. Going abroad means no long term follow up, which... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
1.5 to 2 per week: The first month before you start your fills often you are on a modified diet so weight loss is variable between surgeons. Once you start your fills ex... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Usually: Gastric bypass is usually covered by most insurances including medicare and medicaid. There are often requirements such as doctor supervised weight l... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
About a week: When done laparoscopically you can be back to work usually in 1-2 weeks, depending on what you do for a living.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
One incision: Single port surgery uses a special port that multiple instruments go through, unlike traditional laparoscopy where each port canfield only one instrum... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 46-year-old member asked:
What can i do if my wife is having bariatric surgery. is it common for post operative complications?
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
About 1-2%: Laparoscopic gastric bypass is relatively safe. National statistics say about 1-2% of patients will have complications ranging from minor wound infect... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old female asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
More out than in..: Weight loss is a matter of burning more than you take in. A good place to start is around 1000 calories a day, make sure you keep up with your protein... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old female asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Walk: The best way to get rids of the gas pains after laparoscopic surgery is to walk, walk, walk. Should get better within a day or so.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 48-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Depends: Your out of pocket costs depend on your specific insurance policy and what procedure you choose. Self pay prices in my area range from $11 k for a ban... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Same: The lap band is the trade name for gastric banding. Kind of like tissues and kleenex. Band over bypass is placing a band over the pouch of a gastric b... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Yes: Hair loss after weight loss surgery is not uncommon. Can be due to the stress of the surgery in the first few months. Long term hair loss can be a res... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 30-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Very: If you truly have achalasia a laparoscopic myotomy can provide improvement in your symptoms almost instantly. The long term satisfaction from the sur... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Yea: Any bariatric surgery can fail if the patients do not make the necessary lifestyle changes to be successful long term.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 48-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Myotomy: With the ability to perform a myotomy laparoscopically, there is really no question that if you are healthy enough to have surgery then a myotomy is t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 53-year-old male asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Yes: I am not familiar with the hospitals/doctors in the bay area. However, i can comment on then 2nd part of your question. Yes, if there are no other con... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old female asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Too many 2 count: Where to start? Convenience foods, fast foods, commercial advertising for soda etc... Decrease in the importance of sit down family dinners... Obesity... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 46-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
About 12-18 months: You want your weight loss to have stabilized for at least a few months. On average we recommend that you wait about 12-18 months at least.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Yes : Gastric bypass, duodenal switch and the sleeve gastrectomy have been shown to be more effective at treating diabetes and high blood pressure than medi... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 35-year-old female asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Most common: The most commonly performed surgeries for weight loss in the us are the gastric bypass, adjustable gastric band, sleeve gastrectomy. There is also the... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Many resources: There are many good resources on the web. Depends on what you want treated with minimally invasive surgery. Two good places to start are sages.Org and... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old female asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Yes: A hiatal hernia can make symptoms of gastric reflux worse and sometimes cause you to regurgitate (throw up in your mouth).
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 29-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Depends : All bariatric surgeries are dependent on lifestyle changes to be effective. Any procedure can fail. The surgery is just a tool that gives patients the... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Maybe: The type of surgery that your surgeon may recommend depends on many factors. One of which is surgeon bias. Some patients may do well with a number o... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Usually insurance : Most insurances now pay for bariatric surgery including medicare. Check with your insurance provider to see if it is a covered benefit. Or most surgeo... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Basically: The band is a device goes around the top part of your stomach creating an hourglass effect. With frequent adjustments to the band we can manipulate th... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Burning less: Weight gain or loss is a matter calories in versus calories out. If you are eating the same amount of calories but gaining weight the first step is to... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old female asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Increased risk: Depending on how your hernia was fixed.. Being overweight and heavy lifting could increase the risk of it coming back to as high as 30%.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 40-year-old male asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Yes: It is called referred pain. Because the nerves that control your stomach come from that area of your back, if you have a problem with your stomach you... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old male asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
About a week: After an umbilical hernia repair, generally you should expect to be off work a week. After which you can return with lifting restrictions for about a ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Depends: Each surgeon has their own protocol for diet after surgery. And it often depends on which procedure you have done. Generally speaking, however, you wi... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 23-year-old female asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Easy part over: For about a year after surgery the surgery itself has done the work and weight loss has been relatively easy. From here on out unfortunately, any fur... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Depends: Out of pocket costs for the gastric banding surgery depend on your insurance policy. Self pay prices vary across the country and abroad. Most commonly... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Yes: The long term effects from weight loss surgery depend greatly on which procedure you have. For example reflux after a sleeve or possible vitamin defic... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Not a tummy tuck. : Obesity surgery or bariatric surgery is done for weight loss and treatment of weight associated medical problems and includes the stomach stapling or ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Yes : If you had a bypass in the past lengthening your limbs can increase your weight loss. But it also can increase your risk for vitamin deficiencies.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 35-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Laparoscopically?: If performed laparoscopically, you typically are out of the hospital in a couple of days and back to work in 1-2 weeks. If done the old fashioned way... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Bmi of 35-40: The minimum requirements for bariatric surgery are a bmi of 40 (about 100 lbs overweight) or a bmi of 35 (about 75 lbs overweight) with medical proble... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Ok: It is ok to drink protein shakes as a part of a well rounded diet. Many are high in sugar so be careful for sugar content. Also do not rely on shakes ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Depends..: Recovery from surgery depends on many different factors. Was your surgery minimally invasive? Open with a large cut? Did they remove any bowel? Depend... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old male asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Several: You could try prosec otc (a ppi), or an h2 blocker like zantac (ranitidine) or Pepcid (both otc) and for immediate relief Tums usually works well. Or ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Not as well: After bariatric surgery we usually recommend taking B12 supplements either sublingual (dissolvable under your tongue), with injections. Regular B12 pi... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Scott Welleanswered
Bariatrics 18 years experience
Any: Any increase in your physical activity is good for you. If your knees, back, etc hurt because of your weight consider low impact exercise like water ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
5
Recommendations
327
Thank you notes
Sep 11, 2014
Knowledgeable and respected specialist in Bariatric Medicine. Highly recommend.
Mar 24, 2015
Great doctor. Consistently gives thoughtful, insightful and expert advice.
Aug 29, 2013
Very accurate and timely responses.
HealthTap member
This was very helpful. Thanks! Thanks Doctor Welle. I've had several hernias, but this feels different. Pain is decreasing and have recently been exercising alot. Will take a wait and see approach.
HealthTap member
Thank you so much doctor scott.. I have been considering this surgery because im all most 30 and I have been over weight my whole life.
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! Took her to children's hospital and it was kidney stones
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, PA
Graduated 2005MD
Residency
HENRY FORD MACOMB HOSPITAL
Residency
MOUNT CLEMENS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
Awards
Fellow, American College Osteopathic Surgeons
Fellow, American College of Surgeons
Thought Leader, First Place, Tucson, AZ - Winter
2013
Affiliations
Tucson Medical Center
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