LESS IS MORE
Gastric bypass gave Helen Roussel a new start

It was just a hug, but to Helen Roussel, it was an “ah ha” moment. Last year, her teenage son Marcus wrapped his arms around her torso and swung her around their living room, underscoring the immense changes of the last year.

Just two years ago, Helen was 148 pounds heavier and restricted because of her obesity. She had to give up her season ticket to Saints games because she couldn’t fit in her seat. Marcus had always said he wanted to give her a real hug, but as he got older, she got bigger. Everything changed when Helen decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery at Ochsner’s Surgical Weight Loss Program in New Orleans.

Spooked when reading the obituary section on New Year’s Day 2007, Helen decided to make a healthy change. Coincidentally, she was a secretary who worked on the same floor as Dr. William Richardson, a bariatric surgery specialist. She contacted him and soon began preparing for surgery. Like other Ochsner patients, she saw a therapist to prepare for the big life change and went on a liquid protein diet a few weeks before the operation. Post-surgery, she started exercising and saw a dietitian.

CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
Helen's procedure — a laparoscopic gastric bypass, in which Dr. Richardson made a small stomach pouch and rerouted her intestines to restrict what she could eat and how much she absorbed from what she consumed — was one of hundreds of minimally invasive bariatric surgeries performed at Ochsner last year.

Named a Center of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, Ochsner utilizes a multidisciplinary approach and pre-operative education to prepare patients for these transformative operations. LAP-BAND^® and sleeve gastrectomy procedures are also available.

Dr. Richardson, who began the program five years ago, says talented staff, including dedicated nurses, have also helped make the program a success. “I don’t know how to express how wonderful a thing this is for people who are having a hard time with life,” he says.

THE NEW NORMAL
More dynamic and energetic at work and at home, Helen now goes for walks with her daughter and has dropped from a size 28 to a size 2. One thing that has not changed is her love of cooking. “There are lots of wonderful recipes I have found so that I am able to enjoy the foods here in New Orleans,” she says. For example, she will make spaghetti and meatballs for her family, but will skip the pasta and eat the meatballs and sauce. 

Today, Helen is helping others who are weighing the same decision. Last June, she began working as Dr. Richardson’s Administrative Assistant. “She’s an asset to the program,” he says. “She is able to counsel potential patients and answer questions at Ochsner’s monthly educational seminars and support groups.”

“A lot of what surgeons do is to make patients feel better. We try and bring them back to normal,” says Dr. Richardson. “But with bariatric surgery, we’re changing what people’s normal setting is.”

PULLING HER WEIGHT
Helen now has the energy to keep up with her teenage children, daughter Marion
and son Marcus.