Could bariatric surgery change your life? Do you wish you had a community to support you on your weight loss journey? 

On today’s episode of the BariNation podcast, we’re honored to introduce you to Dr. Sachin Kukreja, a new BariNation practice partner and the director of DFW Bariatrics and General Surgery. Dr. Kukreja shares how he discovered the life-changing power of bariatric surgery, explains why he believes obesity is a disease that deserves long-term care, and discusses the importance of finding support through the BariNation Community.

Click the link to keep connecting and learning from Dr. Kukreja in the BariNation Membership Community! https://bit.ly/DFWBariNation

IN THIS EPISODE:

• (00:00) Opening and introduction
• (01:00) Dr. Kukreja shares his professional journey
• (03:00) Dr. Kukreja admits that he fell in love with bariatric surgery because of how it transformed his patients on their weight loss journey
• (07:57) Dr. Kukreja explains that obesity is a disease with no cure
• (09:05) Dr. Kukreja shares his excitement for becoming a partner with BariNation
• (12:13) Keep the conversation going by using the tools provided by the BariNation Community 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Dr. Sachin Kukreja emphasizes a highly individualized approach to bariatric care, recognizing obesity as a chronic, multifactorial disease that requires long-term relationships and tailored treatment plans, not one-size-fits-all solutions.
• Dr. Kukreja didn’t initially set out to become a bariatric surgeon but discovered its life-changing potential through experience. He now finds joy in helping patients “reverse the clock” and transform their health and lives.
• Dr. Kukreja views BariNation as a crucial extension of his practice. It offers patients consistent, safe, and specialized support beyond what a surgical team can provide alone, highlighting the importance of community in long-term success.

RESOURCES:

• BariNation Website 
• Join the BariNation Membership community meetups to support you on your journey with obesity treatment. https://barination.com/pages/join-our-community
• Want to see bonus content? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/BariNationPodcast to get more and support the podcast for as low as $5 per month!    

OTHER RESOURCES: 

Click the link to keep connecting and learning from Dr. Kukreja in the BariNation Membership Community! https://bit.ly/DFWBariNation

GUEST RESOURCES:

DFW Bariatrics and General Surgery

DFW Bariatrics Store - Hand-Picked for Weight Loss Patients

Dr. Kukreja - LinkedIn

BIOGRAPHY: 

Dr. Kukreja is proud to direct DFW Bariatrics and General Surgery. He truly loves the art and challenges of General and Bariatric surgery. Being Board-certified in Obesity Medicine and Fellowship Trained in Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery, he offers comprehensive obesity care from medications and diet counseling, to non-surgical solutions, to the full range of surgical options – all through small (or no incisions) for a faster recovery. As a testament to his expertise and reputation in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, Dr Kukreja has been recognized by the D Magazine as the Best Doctor for the 7th consecutive year in 2024!

ABOUT:

If the BariNation podcast helps power your bariatric journey, become a monthly podcast supporter and help us produce the show! Visit www.barinationpodcast.com and help us support people treating the disease of obesity with humor, humility, and honesty.

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Jason Smith: [00:00:00] Hi. Welcome to BariNation, where we support the bariatric community with humor, humility, and honesty.

Natalie Tierney: Our goal is you leave us today feeling hopeful, inspired, and ready to live your best bariatric life.

Dr. Sachin Kukreja: for having me.

We wanna know what your philosophy is, what drives you to help patients in such meaningful ways, and why you're excited about this partnership. So let's just [00:01:00] dive in. Yeah.

Uh, back, going back to 2009. So. Um, started my career in Chicago at, at Mount Sinai, which was amazing because it was a, uh, tertiary care [00:01:30] hospital, but it was largely Medicaid. And back in 2009, um, in Chicago, no one had ever heard of a sleeve. Gastrectomy sleeve was not even a procedure that was offered in the state of Illinois.

I was doing about 250 bariatric cases a year up to 500 done throughout the VA system. I was doing about half of them and then decided I really wanted to be able to take care of patients in my own way. [00:02:15] And so, uh, be able to have that flexibility to do the kinds of surgeries I wanted to do that thought would best benefit my patients.

Jason Smith: Well, that's awesome too. I mean, you, you know, you've had the, the laundry list of, of [00:02:45] doing that and especially with the veterans, that's amazing. But there is really something to be said for the freedom to be able to help people the way that you, you know, that best benefits you and the patient at the same time.

Dr. Sachin Kukreja: Thank you. No, it's, it's so much fun to be able to take care of our patients, right? What, what we do day in and day out. Almost reverses the clock for so many of our patients.

April Williams: [00:03:30] You said that in kind of our get to know you, graphics that we shared on Instagram, that was really the highlight of, of why you continue to serve patients in the way that you do. You really love to see them transform into who they are right at the moment of that [00:03:45] surgery. When they make that decision to really years afterwards, you see them blossom into.

Kind of different people.

Laparoscopy only came when I was just finishing my training and I didn't know what I wanted to do. But someone told me that if I could learn how to do a [00:04:15] laparoscopic ruin y gastric bypass and do that anastomosis hand zone, then I could do almost any operation I wanted. And I said, okay, well that gives me a year to kind of figure out my life.

Me selfishly, the ability to have [00:04:45] long-term relationships with my patients, doing hard, challenging, and fun surgery, and transform their lives. Well, we're

And it's such a. Positive experience for so many surgeons out there. [00:05:15] And that is from the patient side. We love hearing that about surgeons because, you know, most of the time if we've ever had doctor or interactions, it's very cut dry to the point. Yeah. It's, you know, it's very transactional and to.

And it's pushing them more and more to want to do that because if they have a surgeon like you that wants to commit to the long road with them and they know that it's not just a, once their check is cashed, you can be like, huh, well take it easy. Eat 1200 calories [00:06:00] forever and have a good day. And you know, when they know that they can come back and have somebody that they can continue to interact with, that makes them a lot more comfortable.

Is the,

I mean, today, this day, whenever the date is, I don't even know. None [00:06:30] of the 7 billion of us have had exactly the same day. Right? Yeah. We all have a different story for April, whatever today is.

Designed for you as an individual, and it seems like you really embrace that individual modality of treatment when it comes to your patients.

But I will say that that also makes it harder, right? Like you actually have to figure out which hammer is the right [00:07:15] hammer or the right hammers for these nails, you know?

April Williams: Yes. It, it does require that individualized treatment, but it, yeah, but you as, as what you said though, it does take time to get to know that person as an individual.

It sounds like your approach is gonna be very personable and also very like accepting of this is a lifelong disease, not I. Not something that you've just done with

Yes. We're here to support you. We're here to help you. We're not here to fix you. Um, you're not, you're not [00:08:15] broken. And this isn't a fix. And so, um, it's when you really look at the fact that obesity is a multifactorial disease, right? It's not behavior, it's not exercise, it's not diet, it's not genetic, it's not environmental.

April Williams: Absolutely. Well, we are thrilled to partner with you because we know how deeply [00:08:45] passionate you are about your patients and helping them on this individual level.

So we're thrilled that you are now a part of Berry Nation. You're gonna be leading in Berry Nation. Obviously you're joining us on these podcasts. Yeah. But is, is there a reason that you are excited to be partnering with us with Berry Nation?

This, this network of, of support is what people need. I am one surgeon and I have two other surgeons that work with me. I. [00:09:15] 10 staff. Okay. There's 13 people here to help however many people, right? And we are not available 24 7 to do everything all the time. So this umbrella approach, this catch approach that you guys offer that allows patients to [00:09:30] be met in their space and at their time in the right moment for their need is frankly a service that no one practice can offer.

April Williams: yep, yep. We, we agree. We created Berry Nation because we wanted it to be that safe place that no matter where you are in this journey, no matter how old you are, no matter if you're a man or a woman, you can [00:10:00] find that support that you need in that moment.

So it's this safe place that we can all trust and lean into when we encounter part of this journey that we don't know what to do next.

I mean, and the, the person who being was being affected was asleep and out of it. So, I mean, [00:10:45] really this is, uh, this is something that you can't, you can't do surgery and I can't do what you do, and you can't do what the other person does. And so we all have to work on this together.

April Williams: Yep. It is. We say it often, Jason, right?

That [00:11:15] we as patients kind of knew was missing, and we're just so thankful that we have this opportunity to build something great and amazing together with you. So thank you.

April Williams: If you would like to keep getting to know Dr.

Dr. Sachin Kukreja: Awesome.

Dr. Sachin Kukreja: Absolutely. I'll be here. Alright, bye friends.

Natalie Tierney: Join [00:12:30] us@barination.mn.co.

If you found this podcast valuable, help us produce it by becoming a $5 monthly supporter@barinationpodcast.com.