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Meet Dr. Basil Yurcisin
Dr. Basil Yurcisin is a seasoned bariatric and general surgeon, trained at one of the world’s top fellowship programs in bariatrics and minimally invasive surgery. Listen in and get to know Dr. Yurcisin, one of GSBW top surgeons.
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Learn more about Basil Yurcisin, MD
Basil Yurcisin, MD
Dr. Basil Yurcisin is a seasoned bariatric and general surgeon, trained at one of the world’s top fellowship programs in bariatrics and minimally invasive surgery- Duke University Medical Center in NC. GSBWC looked for just the right combination of superior surgeon, highly trained (with thousands of surgeries performed before he joined us) and an unwavering, authentic passion and commitment to patients.Learn more about Basil Yurcisin, MD
Transcription:
Bill Klaproth (Host): I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Basil Yurcisin, a bariatric and general surgeon and a partner at Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness Center. If you're considering bariatric surgery, having full confidence in your surgeon is at the top of your list. So over the next few minutes, we're going to talk with Dr. Yurcisin so you can get to know him a bit better. Dr. Yurcisin, thanks for your time. First off, could you give us a brief background on your education and what led you to become a bariatric surgeon?
Dr. Basil Yurcisin, MD (Guest): Yeah it wasn't always kind of what I set out to be in the beginning. So I started- I went to medical school at Southern Illinois University in Springfield, Illinois. I did my surgical residency at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. It's now one of the University of Pittsburgh hospitals. I went to Duke University for my fellowship in bariatrics and minimally invasive general surgery, and then I took a job here in New Jersey, and I've been here ever since.
But what led me to become a bariatric surgeon was a little bit different. So I always kind of gravitated towards laparoscopic surgery or the minimally invasive keyhole operations, and when I was trying to get my fellowship, I was looking at the different programs and the program that I ultimately went to at Duke, the way that they taught a lot of the minimally invasive surgery was through a very robust bariatric program. And during the time there, I really fell in love with the patients, I really fell in love with the way they made me feel when they were feeling better, because this is really happy medicine. Patients are losing weight, they're doing new things in their lives that they never were able to or never could do before, and they're meeting milestones kind of rapidly and they're happy. So the first thing they want to do is come in and give you a hug, or say thank you or, "You saved my life," or "You helped me get rid of my diabetes." And so honestly, that became very much what got me to gravitate towards and stay in bariatrics in the long run.
Bill: I would imagine having the ability to change a person's life in such a positive way is very gratifying.
Dr. Yurcisin: Immensely. In fact, outside of getting married to my wife, and having my children, and graduating medical school and my residencies, there's very few other things that are as gratifying as that.
Bill: So what is your overall philosophy of care then, Dr. Yurcisin?
Dr. Yurcisin: You know, I like to get to know my patients in the sense that I like to think of us as friends, you know? I try to relate to the patients in different ways, you know? But my philosophy of care is that I'm going to provide you with a procedure that potentially could make you better in a lot of ways. Not only losing weight and looking better in the mirror, but getting rid of your diabetes, your high blood pressure, your high cholesterol, your sleep apnea, and I'm going to be there to hold your hand along the way, and be your friend, and provide for you the support that you need in order to be successful.
Bill: How many surgeries do you think you've performed now at Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness Center?
Dr. Yurcisin: Over 2,000. A couple thousand. Yeah, so I've been here now for about eight years at Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness Center, and I hit the ground running. I started operating very early, and I hope to keep doing this for the next twenty years, twenty-five years, thirty years.
Bill: So Dr. Yurcisin, you just talked about working with patients as partners. How do you approach a situation where a patient has done their research and are convinced that they want a certain procedure, but after evaluation you know the procedure is not right for them. How do you handle that situation?
Dr. Yurcisin: Yeah so one of the questions they like to ask is, "What's the best operation, Doc?" Or, "My friend had this operation, so I want to have this operation." What I try to impart to them is that there's really three operations that we do most often. The gastric sleeve, the gastric bypass, and the duodenal switch, and each of them has strengths and potentially some drawbacks. And so I try to lay them all out, and I look at the patient like they're Cinderella. I say, "I've got to find the right glass slipper to fit your foot, so I've got to find the right operation to fit your set of needs and the amount of weight that you need to lose." And usually when they're armed with that knowledge, they're able to make a very good informed decision for themselves, and quite often I don't have to try to coerce them into doing anything. They choose usually in line with what I would have chosen for them anyway.
And then we take into account their concerns or their fears or their bugaboos about the different operations, and we try to- with the input of their desires, and the input of the facts about the operation, and how the operation can work for them, try to pick the operation that works the best for that person.
Bill: So laying out the options so the patient can make an informed decision on what they feel is best for them.
Dr. Yurcisin: Yeah and I think it's important as well that they just understand why. You know? I mean I think that's the biggest thing is understanding why my thoughts are that maybe they should consider one of the other operations that they may not have been considering when they walked in the door. And I think that's sometimes the one item that they don't know when they walk in, because they just base it off of anecdotal evidence or a friend of theirs had an operation and they don't always take into account how to personalize the operation for themselves.
Bill: So let me ask you this; what question do you get asked the most by someone considering a bariatric procedure?
Dr. Yurcisin: Exactly what we just mentioned, "What's the best operation, Doc?" They're thinking that the answer is one operation, but the question that I get asked the least, or the one that they don't seem to ask, is "What's the best operation for me? What's going to be the thing that is going to give me what my goal is? Losing this amount of weight, getting rid of diabetes, getting rid of these medical problems, these pills that I have to take every day, or this CPAP machine that I have to wear at night. What's going to help me gain that advantage?" And I think that's the question they should be asking, not "What's the best operation?"
Bill: So when it comes to your overall approach to bariatric surgery, what do you want people to know?
Dr. Yurcisin: I want people to know that if they're going to come to our practice at Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness Center, that they're going to have an advocate, they're going to have a member on their team, they're going to have a coach if they need, or a superfan if they need it in order to be successful. And we're not going to give up just because we've run into maybe a little bit of an issue here and there, you know? If we're not losing the weight as quickly as we'd like to, or the medical problems aren't going away as fast as they need, we're going to be in it with you for the long haul.
Bill: Alright Dr. Yurcisin, we're going to take you away from the office now. Can you tell us a bit about your personal life, your family, and what do you do for fun?
Dr. Yurcisin: Well you know, a lot of it surrounds my family what I do for fun. So I'm married to a beautiful woman by the name of Andrea, and I have three beautiful children; Adelaide, Harrison, and Lennon. They're nine, seven, and six years old. We like to spend time together- we've spent a lot of time in Vermont and New England. We like to ski in the wintertime and go and swim in the lakes. Excuse me, the mountain lakes and ponds, I meant to say in the summertime. And so we like to travel a lot. My wife and I like to go into New York City, and eat dinner, and go to see Broadway plays. And I play softball on the weekends, I help coach my kids' baseball and softball teams. So you know, a lot of my enjoyment is driven by my relationship with my family.
Bill: Wow nine, seven, and six. I can understand why you have a busy lifestyle, that's for sure. Well thanks again, Dr. Yurcisin. We appreciate your time today. And to learn more about Dr. Yurcisin and Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness Center, please visit www.GSBWC.com. That's www.GSBWC.com. This is Winning Through Losing, a weight loss surgery podcast with Garden State Bariatrics. I'm Bill Klaproth, thanks for listening.
Bill Klaproth (Host): I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Basil Yurcisin, a bariatric and general surgeon and a partner at Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness Center. If you're considering bariatric surgery, having full confidence in your surgeon is at the top of your list. So over the next few minutes, we're going to talk with Dr. Yurcisin so you can get to know him a bit better. Dr. Yurcisin, thanks for your time. First off, could you give us a brief background on your education and what led you to become a bariatric surgeon?
Dr. Basil Yurcisin, MD (Guest): Yeah it wasn't always kind of what I set out to be in the beginning. So I started- I went to medical school at Southern Illinois University in Springfield, Illinois. I did my surgical residency at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. It's now one of the University of Pittsburgh hospitals. I went to Duke University for my fellowship in bariatrics and minimally invasive general surgery, and then I took a job here in New Jersey, and I've been here ever since.
But what led me to become a bariatric surgeon was a little bit different. So I always kind of gravitated towards laparoscopic surgery or the minimally invasive keyhole operations, and when I was trying to get my fellowship, I was looking at the different programs and the program that I ultimately went to at Duke, the way that they taught a lot of the minimally invasive surgery was through a very robust bariatric program. And during the time there, I really fell in love with the patients, I really fell in love with the way they made me feel when they were feeling better, because this is really happy medicine. Patients are losing weight, they're doing new things in their lives that they never were able to or never could do before, and they're meeting milestones kind of rapidly and they're happy. So the first thing they want to do is come in and give you a hug, or say thank you or, "You saved my life," or "You helped me get rid of my diabetes." And so honestly, that became very much what got me to gravitate towards and stay in bariatrics in the long run.
Bill: I would imagine having the ability to change a person's life in such a positive way is very gratifying.
Dr. Yurcisin: Immensely. In fact, outside of getting married to my wife, and having my children, and graduating medical school and my residencies, there's very few other things that are as gratifying as that.
Bill: So what is your overall philosophy of care then, Dr. Yurcisin?
Dr. Yurcisin: You know, I like to get to know my patients in the sense that I like to think of us as friends, you know? I try to relate to the patients in different ways, you know? But my philosophy of care is that I'm going to provide you with a procedure that potentially could make you better in a lot of ways. Not only losing weight and looking better in the mirror, but getting rid of your diabetes, your high blood pressure, your high cholesterol, your sleep apnea, and I'm going to be there to hold your hand along the way, and be your friend, and provide for you the support that you need in order to be successful.
Bill: How many surgeries do you think you've performed now at Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness Center?
Dr. Yurcisin: Over 2,000. A couple thousand. Yeah, so I've been here now for about eight years at Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness Center, and I hit the ground running. I started operating very early, and I hope to keep doing this for the next twenty years, twenty-five years, thirty years.
Bill: So Dr. Yurcisin, you just talked about working with patients as partners. How do you approach a situation where a patient has done their research and are convinced that they want a certain procedure, but after evaluation you know the procedure is not right for them. How do you handle that situation?
Dr. Yurcisin: Yeah so one of the questions they like to ask is, "What's the best operation, Doc?" Or, "My friend had this operation, so I want to have this operation." What I try to impart to them is that there's really three operations that we do most often. The gastric sleeve, the gastric bypass, and the duodenal switch, and each of them has strengths and potentially some drawbacks. And so I try to lay them all out, and I look at the patient like they're Cinderella. I say, "I've got to find the right glass slipper to fit your foot, so I've got to find the right operation to fit your set of needs and the amount of weight that you need to lose." And usually when they're armed with that knowledge, they're able to make a very good informed decision for themselves, and quite often I don't have to try to coerce them into doing anything. They choose usually in line with what I would have chosen for them anyway.
And then we take into account their concerns or their fears or their bugaboos about the different operations, and we try to- with the input of their desires, and the input of the facts about the operation, and how the operation can work for them, try to pick the operation that works the best for that person.
Bill: So laying out the options so the patient can make an informed decision on what they feel is best for them.
Dr. Yurcisin: Yeah and I think it's important as well that they just understand why. You know? I mean I think that's the biggest thing is understanding why my thoughts are that maybe they should consider one of the other operations that they may not have been considering when they walked in the door. And I think that's sometimes the one item that they don't know when they walk in, because they just base it off of anecdotal evidence or a friend of theirs had an operation and they don't always take into account how to personalize the operation for themselves.
Bill: So let me ask you this; what question do you get asked the most by someone considering a bariatric procedure?
Dr. Yurcisin: Exactly what we just mentioned, "What's the best operation, Doc?" They're thinking that the answer is one operation, but the question that I get asked the least, or the one that they don't seem to ask, is "What's the best operation for me? What's going to be the thing that is going to give me what my goal is? Losing this amount of weight, getting rid of diabetes, getting rid of these medical problems, these pills that I have to take every day, or this CPAP machine that I have to wear at night. What's going to help me gain that advantage?" And I think that's the question they should be asking, not "What's the best operation?"
Bill: So when it comes to your overall approach to bariatric surgery, what do you want people to know?
Dr. Yurcisin: I want people to know that if they're going to come to our practice at Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness Center, that they're going to have an advocate, they're going to have a member on their team, they're going to have a coach if they need, or a superfan if they need it in order to be successful. And we're not going to give up just because we've run into maybe a little bit of an issue here and there, you know? If we're not losing the weight as quickly as we'd like to, or the medical problems aren't going away as fast as they need, we're going to be in it with you for the long haul.
Bill: Alright Dr. Yurcisin, we're going to take you away from the office now. Can you tell us a bit about your personal life, your family, and what do you do for fun?
Dr. Yurcisin: Well you know, a lot of it surrounds my family what I do for fun. So I'm married to a beautiful woman by the name of Andrea, and I have three beautiful children; Adelaide, Harrison, and Lennon. They're nine, seven, and six years old. We like to spend time together- we've spent a lot of time in Vermont and New England. We like to ski in the wintertime and go and swim in the lakes. Excuse me, the mountain lakes and ponds, I meant to say in the summertime. And so we like to travel a lot. My wife and I like to go into New York City, and eat dinner, and go to see Broadway plays. And I play softball on the weekends, I help coach my kids' baseball and softball teams. So you know, a lot of my enjoyment is driven by my relationship with my family.
Bill: Wow nine, seven, and six. I can understand why you have a busy lifestyle, that's for sure. Well thanks again, Dr. Yurcisin. We appreciate your time today. And to learn more about Dr. Yurcisin and Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness Center, please visit www.GSBWC.com. That's www.GSBWC.com. This is Winning Through Losing, a weight loss surgery podcast with Garden State Bariatrics. I'm Bill Klaproth, thanks for listening.