Searching for Better Surgical Options
Dr. Anthone was not satisfied with these approaches, and sought a procedure that would prove as successful as the previous obesity surgeries but without the accompanying side effects. He found an alternative - the distal gastric bypass with the duodenal switch - and now performs it at USC University Hospital. The origin of his interest in obesity surgery can be traced to his two-year research fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, which focused on intestinal physiology.
Prior to this experience, Dr. Anthone earned his masters' degree in biology and biochemistry from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, where he also completed his medical degree and general surgical residency. It was there that he met Tom R. DeMeester, M.D., now professor and chairman of Surgery at the USC School of Medicine.
At Johns Hopkins, Dr. Anthone focused his work on the mechanism that controls intestinal absorption, and the hormones involved in this process. "Although this was a basic science fellowship, my colleagues and I often wondered if we could find and isolate the hormone that controls intestinal absorption, then we could block it, in turn controlling obesity. While it was just speculation, he recalls, "it stimulated my interest and eventually led to my involvement in obesity surgery." Dr. DeMeester recruited Dr. Anthone to USC in 1991, where he now devotes his practice to helping patients who suffer from morbid obesity and its complications. While teaching a laparoscopic course at USC, Dr. Anthone met several obesity surgeons, who encouraged him to attend a local obesity meeting where he was introduced to Doug Hess, M.D., a general surgeon from Bowling Green, Ohio.
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