Friday, October 16, 2026
Course Director
George Orthopoulos MD, PhD, FACS
Course Co-Director for IH sessions
Kellie Armstrong, MSN, RN, FASMBS-IH, CBN
10:00 AM - 10:05 AM
Welcome
Georgios Orthopoulos, MD, FACS
10:05 AM - 10:30 AM
The great bariatric nutrition debate: Does an ideal protocol really exist
Emily Marie Thompson RD, CSOWM, LD
Jillian Reece
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Is Behavioral Health a Key to Bariatric Surgery Readiness, Recovery, and Long-Term Outcomes?
Kristy Dalrymple, PhD
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
The road to readiness: Prehabilitation and patient preparation for bariatric surgery
Moderator: Karen Flanders, MSN, NP
Panelists: Catherine Cline, DNP
Viviane Fornasaro-Donahue, PhD
Stephanie Sogg, PhD
Matthew Stults-Kolehmainen, PhD
Vanessa Ventura, DNP
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Lunch/Exhibits
1:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Revisional bariatric surgery
Dmytro 'Dima' M. Havaleshko, MD, FACS, DABS-FPMBS, FASMBS
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Is there an ideal number of bariatric fellowships in the era of GLP-1 RAs?
Eric G. Sheu, MD, PhD
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Magnetic sphincter augmentation following bariatric surgery
Alicja Zalewski MD
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Coffee Break/Exhibits
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
MASLD: Is bariatric surgery better than pharmacotherapy?
Zeyad T. Sahli, MD MBA
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
From Evidence to Practice: The Top 5 Bariatric Surgery Papers of 2026
Abdelrahman Nimeri, MD, FACS, FASMBS
4:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Magnetic anastomoses in bariatric surgery (Virtual presentation)
Andre F. Teixeira, MD
4:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Interesting cases with residents and fellows
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Open discussion
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Reception
