Neil Floch, MD, is a bariatric surgeon and the director of Bariatric Surgery for Greenwich Hospital. He has extensive experience operating on patients to help improve their overall health and keep their weight off with gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, and revisional bariatric surgeries. He is an advanced laparoscopic surgeon, performing surgeries that fix reflux and hiatal hernias. He also performs general surgery to address all types of hernias, gallbladder problems, and achalasia, as well as esophageal surgery and small bowel operations.

Over 21 years ago, Dr. Floch began to perform bariatric surgery, which is his passion. “Helping people lose weight and regain their lives is one of the most rewarding experiences,” he says. “It’s incredible to watch how weight loss allows people to play with their children, go on amusement park rides, dance, run, and enjoy their previous lives.” Weight loss surgery also reduces the risk of cancer and can put type 2 diabetes into remission, he adds.

The son of a gastroenterologist, Dr. Floch says he grew up interested in medicine and gravitated to surgery because he loves working with his hands. His father always taught him to do what is best for the patient. Dr. Floch prides himself on his bedside manner and patient relationships.

Dr. Floch says minimally invasive surgery involves gently inflating the patient’s abdomen with carbon dioxide gas, creating multiple small incisions, and inserting a thin, long camera into the belly to diagnose and fix problems. “Long ago, I envisioned a future where we could do almost any operation that previously needed a big, uncomfortable incision and replace it with a surgery that caused minimal pain,” he says. “Now, patients need only an overnight stay or a few days in the hospital, and many are able to go home on the same day as the surgery.”

Educating patients about obesity is important to Dr. Floch. “Many of my patients spent their entire lives thinking that obesity is their fault, but it is a complex and commonly misunderstood disease,” he says. “My role is to not only take care of my patients but to educate the public about obesity, why it’s happening, and how we can treat and prevent it.”

To that end, Dr. Floch is active on social media, particularly Twitter. He helped start—and served as the president of—the Connecticut chapter of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. He actively supports legislation at the state level to increase patient access to bariatric surgery and obesity medications.