28 August 29 • 2019
jn
28 August 29 • 2019
jn
B
efore Andrew Grossman, 45, of Southfield
underwent gastric bypass surgery, he had to
overcome a whole host of health, environ-
mental and lifestyle challenges.
For one, as a 41-year-old, he was close to 400
pounds, had high blood pressure, Type 2 diabe-
tes and was coping with a MRSA infection, all
while running the Bread Basket Deli restaurant in
Madison Heights.
Then he had a heart attack. For him, it was the
final wakeup call he needed to make a change in
his life.
“I was on a mission,” he said. “I had to lose
weight.”
Grossman, who is Jewish, was already enrolled
in Beaumont Weight Control Center’
s bariatric
surgery preparation program. He didn’
t allow the
heart attack to shelve his surgery plans forever.
Two years ago, he underwent gastric bypass sur-
gery, a procedure that shrinks the size of the stom-
ach to the size of a golf ball and gives it the capaci-
ty to accommodate about four ounces of food.
“When I first started (the surgery preparation
program), I was 380 pounds and I’
m now at 260 to
270 pounds,” he said. “I went from a 54-inch size
waist to a 36-inch waist.”
He said the surgery required him to be in the
Intensive Care Unit for five days and that recovery,
all told, took about two weeks.
“I didn’
t have a bad surgery,” he said. “I had
a little bit of soreness. I still had hunger, but it
wasn’
t over-the-top hunger.”
For Grossman, more than anything else, he had
to change his environment and how he thought
about food. He took a year off from running his
restaurant to avoid the abundance of food and
the amount of pop he was used to drinking. He
stopped going to fast-food restaurants and stopped
eating fried foods.
“I was just living to eat, not eating to live,” he
said. “I was totally doing it backwards. The hardest
part is figuring out what to eat. Instead of buying
candy, I now eat quinoa. It’
s a lifestyle change.”
Not only has Grossman lost weight, he has
reversed his high blood pressure, no longer takes
insulin to control his diabetes and no longer
experiences back or knee pain. In fact, his wife,
Donyella, joined him on his weight-loss journey
and has lost about 40 pounds herself, following his
diet changes.
Kerstyn Zalesin, M.D., director
of Bariatric Medicine at Beaumont
Weight Control Center, said gastric
bypass surgery is appropriate for
people who have more than 100
pounds to lose and, like Grossman,
have “perilous” comorbidities like
high blood pressure, diabetes or a
heart condition.
“Andrew is a very typical candidate for gastric
bypass surgery,” Zalesin said. “I certainly do prefer
to find these patients before these conditions come
up, to head them off, so to speak.”
However, she said that some people find it too
difficult to exercise because of their excess weight.
And some people who have tried dieting find it
too difficult to do on their own.
In addition to the gastric bypass surgery,
Beaumont also offers the gastric sleeve surgery,
which is very popular with patients, according to
Zalesin. Beaumont surgeons perform about 700
gastric sleeve surgeries each year in contrast to
about 150 gastric bypass surgeries. Beaumont also
offers the lap-band surgery, approved in 1991, but
do very few of these operations.
“I do feel people feel that it’
s easier to wrap their
heads around gastric sleeve surgeries,” Dr. Zalesin
said. “A lot of patients seem to prefer the sleeve at
this time.”
In gastric bypass surgery, surgeons divide the
continued on page 30
Kerstyn
Zalesin, M.D.
Eating to
Live
Southfi
eld man overcomes
major health, lifestyle challenges
with bariatric surgery.
ELIZABETH KATZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
TOP: Andrew Grossman, 45, of Southfield, plays checkers with
his son, Daniel, 11. BOTTOM: Andrew Grossman at 380 pounds
before his bariatric surgery. He is pictured here with his late
father, Saul, and his son, Daniel.
PHOTO BY TONY SIMLER
PHOTO BY ELAYNE GROSS
jews d
in
the