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Prakash Chandran (Host): I can't say that I've ever really gotten the chance to know any doctor that has helped me in the past, but luckily today, we'll get a chance to do just that through a casual conversation with one of the doctors at Garden State. This is Winning Through Losing, a weight loss surgery podcast from Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness enter.

Our guest today is Dr. Basil Yurcisin, Bariatric Surgeon and Partner at Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness Center. My name is Prakash Chandran. So, first of all, Dr. Yurcisin, it's really great to have you here today. Let's just get started with the basics. How exactly did you get into bariatrics?

Dr. Basil Yurcisin (Guest): Yeah. I mean it wasn't, actually my initial intention. I started, I just wanted to be a really good minimally invasive general surgeon. And when I elected to do my fellowship in that field, the majority of the fellowships have a significant bariatric component in them. And so when I was going about the business of training, I came across bariatrics kind of fortuitously.

And I found that it's happy medicine. People are getting healthier instead of, you know, there's no morose conversations, really. I mean, people are happy and they're losing weight and they're getting rid of medical problems and it feels good to do that service for people. And it was infectious and it grew on me and it's where I kind of started to really focus on it as a life goal. And I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else, to be honest.

Host: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense that you're talking about that component of just seeing people get better. I'm curious, was there another plan B profession or specialty that also kind of gave you that same high that you might've been considering if bariatrics wasn't in your future?

Dr. Yurcisin: Well, yeah, I mean, general surgery is a problem solution based type of a job. And so you do get the benefit or the happiness of somebody comes in with a problem, I've got appendicitis or my gallbladder's inflamed and we do an operation, we fix it, you go home and you say, wow, I'm glad I had that doctor that day. And my life is back to normal. And I'm not carrying a lot of baggage because of that. So, yeah, general surgery is still something that excites me and that I enjoy doing. It's just, I found even more fulfillment in the world of bariatrics, kind of along the same lines.

Host: Love it. How long have you been in bariatrics for?

Dr. Yurcisin: So I guess, I've been in partnership practice in New Jersey for about 11 years. I did a two-year fellowship prior to that in bariatrics. So, approximately 13 years.

Host: Right. So, there's quite a lot of experience. So, as you move forward with the practice of bariatrics, what's your vision over the next 5, 10, 20 years? Is this something that you see yourself doing for the rest of your career and, and how do you kind of look at yourself as improving within it?

Dr. Yurcisin: So absolutely, something that I will finish my career doing. I always make the comment to my patients when I'm interviewing them and we're getting to know each other in the beginning, that the choice to have bariatric surgery with Garden State Bariatrics is a lifetime choice.

It's a lifestyle change. And as a result, that patient in front of me has to choose to be my buddy going forward. And then I'm not planning on going anywhere. And I would hope that they're not either other than, you know, the natural course of things that make people move around in their lives. But, that I'm not moving away from being there as a support system for them and vice versa.

Host: Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, I imagine with all of this experience that you have, you've probably gained some notable accolades or awards. Are there any that you'd like to share with our audience today?

Dr. Yurcisin: Well, I mean, I've been privileged, lucky enough to be given certain awards, but I don't really want to try to brag on myself too much. I am the Division Chief of Bariatrics at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey. I wouldn't call that an award. That's more of a position of honor.

So I, I do enjoy that position. I participate with different national societies like SAGES and the ASMBS, through which I've served on multiple committees. And I've actually won some different things along the way. But I, again, don't want it dwell on that too much. I hope that my work speaks for itself and my bedside manner, my interaction with patients is the thing that brings people to me, not my resume so much, you know.

Prakash Chandran (Host): Absolutely.

Host: Well, you know, I can tell you that because you have that type of disposition and you have the passion for the work, that's probably why you are honored in the way that you are. So, one question actually that I had for you, is kind of around plastic surgery versus bariatric surgery.

You know, I know that for plastic surgery, it's kind of, I guess, more cosmetic that you've got the tummy tuck, and you know, fat being moved from the stomach to the butt, how do you think about the differences between those two?

Dr. Yurcisin: It's night and day. They're not even in the same category, really. So, one of the letters that was added to our national society's acronym. It used to be the American Society of Bariatric Surgery, and then it became the American Society of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery.

So that letter M for metabolic really kind of says it all. The action of doing bariatric surgery is a known cure for multiple diseases that ail the American populace and the world populace, that kill people, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea. The act of doing plastic surgery, doesn't touch that at all. And so, plastic surgery is a cosmetic action to try to reduce where you see the existence of certain areas of the skin, external to your body. Bariatric surgery changes your metabolism. It changes the list of diseases that you carry with you. So, diabetes gets better. High blood pressure gets better. Sleep apnea gets better. Coronary artery disease gets better. And with that, your time on the earth gets longer. So, you get to spend more time with your family.

Host: Yeah. I really think that is very good breakdown. And you know, one is kind of trying to maybe make you look a little bit better. Maybe you're insecure about something, but the field of bariatrics is more about saving your life. Right? And you see that improvement.

Dr. Yurcisin: And that being said, the plastic surgeons, I mean, I don't want to diss the plastic surgeons in any way, shape or form. They are integral in helping our patients after they've lost weight. And after they've gotten healthier to sometimes do an abdominal plasty or a butt lift or a breast lift or arm reduction surgery, leg reduction surgery, to help that patient from the standpoint of what they see in the mirror. Not only are they healthier on the inside, but the plastic surgeons can really, start to help that patient from the standpoint of letting the person that they think is on the inside kind of get out.

Host: Yeah. Totally makes sense. I'd love to just maybe if, if you don't mind ask some personal questions, talk to us a little bit about you and your family life. Are you married? Do you have any kids or pets?

Dr. Yurcisin: Yeah, I'm happily married to my high school sweetheart, Andrea. We have, three kids, a daughter and two sons in that order. And then we have Maple. She's a hunting style dog and we live in Cranford, New Jersey. So, we've integrated ourselves into the New Jersey framework pretty well.

And we came from the Midwest originally. We were from the St. Louis area, both my wife and I. So, it was a little bit of a transition initially to the way of the Jersey. But, it's been an awesome transition and I can't imagine living anywhere else now.

Host: Yeah. That's awesome to hear. And how has your dog adjusted? I remember when I moved, I had special kind of breed of dog as well, and it kind of took a little bit of time for him to get adjusted, compared to the rest of my family. Has that been pretty easy transition?

Dr. Yurcisin: Oh, well, you know, the dog is, she's young. We've only had it for about two years now, a year and a half. She's always been a Jersey girl if you will. So, she didn't have to adjust to the change. We did have a previous dog cause during my residency, I was in Pittsburgh and he made the transition pretty well. I think it's just depends on the people around the dogs that have impact on the way the dogs kind of react to their external stimulus.

Host: Nice. Yeah, I love having these types of conversations because oftentimes when you see doctors or surgeons, you just kind of like, oh, I guess you live here. You're living in the hospital and this is what you do all day long, but it's just kind of nice hearing about the personal life a little bit, and that you do have personal life goals and aspirations and things like that tell me a little bit about your hobbies. Do you have, do you like play musical instruments? Do you listen to music? Talk about that.

Dr. Yurcisin: I try to golf. Golf is probably pretty major hobby. I play. I'm a weekend warrior, I play sports with my friends on the weekends. I play in a flag football league where we play in a tournament for special Olympics every year. I'm on a softball team. So, I guess I'm a bit of a weekend warrior type. I like spending a lot of time with my family. We have a house or a place in Vermont. And so we'd like to spend a lot of time in Vermont, throughout the year, especially in the winter time. So, we try to expose our kids to a little bit of everything and that's kind of where my focus is.

Host: And what about podcasts or Netflix TV shows? I mean, like, at least for me, that's how I decompress when I come home after a long day of work. Do y'all do that as well.

Dr. Yurcisin: Oh, absolutely. I'm always on the hunt for the new show, right? Like it was Game of Thrones for a while. It was Stranger Things. I'd say I'm a bit of a connoisseur of the the Jotson Tittles of the TV world, I guess.

Host: Any recommendations for our audience? Like give us like top three?

Dr. Yurcisin: Top three. Well, that's, that's difficult. Well, I mean, I, I really liked The Wire. I really liked, Game of Thrones. Something newer, Succession is pretty cool. I liked that show. Mayor of East Town was quite good. Those are a couple.

Host: Love it. Yeah. I'm loving Billions and ...

Dr. Yurcisin: Billions, I hear good things. I haven't seen that one

Host: yet.

Billions is so good. And also surprisingly, and this is like a good family one is Ted Lasso. Have you heard of that one?

Dr. Yurcisin: Oh, Ted Lasso is fantastic.

Host: So,

Dr. Yurcisin: I'm so signed on with that. Like the second season just started, I've only watched the first episode, but oh my goodness. What a great show.

Host: Great show. Awesome. Here's a funny question. Would you travel to space if you were given the opportunity?

Dr. Yurcisin: Oh yeah, absolutely. No question.

Host: And what would be your last meal before blasting off into space? What would you order?

Dr. Yurcisin: So there's a place in the West Village in New York City that I really like to go to for dinner, a place called, I Sodi it's spelled I space. S O D I. It's a little Italian joint on Christopher Street. The Head Chef there she makes like a Cacio e Pepe, which is absolutely my deathbed dish. And not that I'm saying I would die when I go to space, but, it's absolutely it'll last meal I'm going to have. It's so amazing.

Host: It's so funny. You, you just had that loaded and ready to go. So, it is something that you've clearly put some thought into.

Dr. Basil Yurcisin (Guest): Yeah, I

Dr. Yurcisin: think I put hours of thought it and every time eat it, I go, oh my goodness, when am I going to get the chance to have this again? It's funny that I have that kind of relationship with food considering what I do, but there's certain things that can really fire my desires.

Host: Totally. Hey, so, if you never had to work again in the field of bariatrics, I'm curious as to like how you would think about spending your time. Like, do you have a bucket list of things that you would start checking off? Like talk to us a little bit about that.

Dr. Yurcisin: I really, really enjoy travel. I didn't mention that in my hobbies, but, I just like to see the world. I like enjoying and being introduced to new cultures and new foods. And I think that if I had infinite resources and no need to necessarily work, I think that I would take my family and we would just you know, try to hit every country in the world and every national park in the country and every state in the country and just see as much as possible. I always kind of have been like when I watch certain TV shows or certain guys like Anthony Bordain and the things he got to do on some of his television programs, that seems like absolutely amazing to me just the way he kind of immersed himself in things. So, I think that would be my answer, honestly.

Host: Yeah, I love it. And just as we close here, I'd love to learn just a little bit more about what you enjoy most about what you do. And this can be both personally and professionally.

Dr. Yurcisin: The thing I enjoy the most is when I get to hear things that people have gotten to do for either the first time or the first time in a long time time because of what we did together, the patient and I. For instance, had a woman who was infertile, not able to have children had tried multiple times IVF, things like that. She had polycystic ovarian disease and she was a young woman in her late twenties. And she wasn't able to conceive. And then we had bariatric surgery and a year later after losing a hundred some odd pounds, she was able to get pregnant and have a child. And that was truly an amazing experience in my life. But there's a lot of those. Sometimes you have patients that say, oh, I was able to ride a rollercoaster with my kids for the first time or I was able to bend over and tie my shoes or, or something that sometimes I may take for granted, cause I have been lucky enough to be able to do those things. But it kind of resonates and hits home whenever that happens, you know? And, and it's just a little reassurance that I'm happy with what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. And there's no doubt, whenever that kind of thing happens.

Host: Well Dr. Yurcisin, I think that's really the perfect place to end. Thank you so much for everything that you do. And just for taking some time to let us get to know you a little bit better.

Dr. Yurcisin: Yeah, thanks Prakash.

Host: Yeah, absolutely. That's Dr. Basil Yurcisin, Bariatric Surgeon and Partner at Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness Center.

For more information, please visit the Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness Center website at gsbwc.com. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and be sure to check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. This was Winning Through Losing, a weight loss surgery podcast with Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness Center.

My name is Prakash Chandran. Thank you so much for listening.