MAY 2021 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 15
COVER FEATURE
LINES OF OBESITY EPIDEMIC
and we are all proud to be part of something
larger than ourselves here at Long
Island Obesity Surgery.”
Dr. Buchin insists on seeing every one of
his post-op patients, no matter how long
ago the surgery, whether it’s 6 months
ago or 16 years ago,” said Helene. “The
level of care he provides is rare.”
And patients certainly agree.
“From the minute I walked in the door I
felt cared for here,” said patient Patrice
L. “I immediately trusted him. “He never
makes you feel rushed and will spend 45
minutes talking to you.”
The reason his care has been so lauded is
because of the personal connection that
continues to exist between the doctor
and his patients.
“It was, and still is, an amazing experience
to see how I can help people change
their lives for the better,” Dr. Buchin
says. “People come to me at Long Island
Obesity Surgery discouraged, and often
dealing with very serious weight-related
health conditions. When they take back
their lives, I see their progress firsthand,
and feel the personal connection with
them as they get a second chance at life.”
A big part of LIOS’s practice is Dr.
Buchin’s ability to perform successful
revisions, corrective surgeries of past
bariatric procedures done by other
surgeons. Many patients who come
to LIOS have been turned away by
other surgeons due to the complexity
of their cases. But Dr. Buchin takes
on those challenges and through research
and his expert surgical skills
finds the best solution for each patient
in his care, because he knows that
each patient is unique. Even patients
with the most complex cases go on to
successful weight loss and lead transformed
lives.
“What some people do not understand
is the impact that weight-related illness
can have outside of the medical
impact,” he says. “People that struggle
with weight loss are often dealing with
the inability to do the things they love,
whether it’s kick a soccer ball with
their child, go for walks, pick up their
children, and so on. The surgeries and
the care that we provide here make all
that possible again, empowering our
patients to be the best they can be, again,
free of the concerns that they once had
about weight-related illness and longterm
health impacts.”
It has never been more important that
people know that they have this option,
says Dr. Buchin.
In 2020, Covid-19 added an entirely new
element to this, as Buchin feared that
people would neglect to address their
weight. The unknown became a year
of little exercise, gym closures, and a
heightened sense of anxiety. Because of
this, many people gained weight which
was dubbed the “quarantine 15” or for
some, the “quarantine 50.”
While some took their weight gain
lightly, Dr. Buchin witnessed just how
serious it had become. As a result, he
announced a public awareness campaign,
to shed light on losing weight.
He issued a public alert, dubbed “Put
Huntington on A Diet,” the home of his
practice, insisting town residents get
up, get active, and shake off that weight
they had gained in the lockdown period.
A Harris Poll found that 42 percent of
Americans said that they gained weight
during the pandemic. And now, as the
Covid-19 vaccines have become available
to most people, it is encouraging
people to refocus their attention on their
weight.
“So many across the nation were so concerned
about catching Covid-19, that they
shied away from the other preventative
health measures that a person must do
to live a healthy life. We have received a
skyrocketing number of people inquiring
about weight loss surgery since the
pandemic because people are now recognizing
their substantial weight gain,”
says Dr. Buchin.
Weight loss surgery is a serious medical
procedure and Dr. Buchin encourages
candidates to research the different
options that are available to them. Procedures
such as the gastricbypass and
the gastric sleeve revisions have helped
Long Island Obesity Surgery’s patients
lose thousands of pounds and live the
lives they deserve.
His mission, though, of helping people
is far from finished. Dr. Buchin and the
doctors, nurses, and staff at Long Island
Obesity Surgery see their profession as a
calling that will continue to change lives,
one pound at a time.
Dr. Buchin resides in Lloyd Harbor with
his wife and two children.
Mike before and after (Photo courtesy Long Island Obesity Surgery)
Dominique before and after (Photo courtesy Long Island Obesity Surgery)
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