About Us...


A Short History of Bariatric Surgery

Surgeons began to explore the possibility of treating severe obesity in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1953, Dr. John Linner performed the first weight loss surgery in a human -- a malabsorptive operation called a "jejunoileal bypass." His success with this operation led to its widespread adoption in the 1960s and 1970s. Dr Linner taught Dr Schwartz how to perform a gastric bypass in 1978. Dr Raymond Drew was also an integral part of our bariatric surgical group for over 20 years. Dr Linner retired from this group in 1995. We have been performing Bariatric Surgery since 1953.

1966 - Dr Edward Mason performed the first gastric Bypass.

1986 - Duodenal Switch was first reported by Dr. Doug Hess.

1986 - The first LAP-BAND was developed by T Kuzmak. The LAP-BAND was approved for use in the United States by the FDA in June 2001.

1995 - Gary Anthone began performing the sleeve gastrectomy as a standalone procedure. It was not until the 2005 that it started to become a popular procedure.

(1881 - 130 years ago Theodore Billroth first removed a stomach from a human but not for weight loss.)

This group was founded in 1984 as General and Vascular Surgeons PA by Drs. Michael Schwartz and Henry Sosin. It evolved to Minneapolis Bariatric Surgeons in 2005. Bariatric surgery has also evolved into a separate discipline of surgery, requiring an in-depth knowledge of multiple areas. These include anatomy, physiology, effects of alteration of the gastrointestinal tract, nutrition, cardiology, pulmonology, endocrinology, and the psychology of serious obesity.

We are engaged in the improvement of the health of morbidly obese persons. We wish to offer comprehensive medical, surgical, emotional, and psychological care for the group of people we serve. We want to provide a safe haven for treatment of a disease that is often not taken seriously by the public -- and give you a place to turn to for support and understanding. We provide excellence and skill in the provision of surgical tools to help those with the currently incurable disease of "morbid obesity."