Physicians
Northeast Baptist Bariatric Center
Dr. Cavazos
Medical Director
Dr. Ramiro “Sonny” Cavazos received advanced fellowship training in weight-loss surgery at the prestigious Wittgrove Bariatric Center under the guidance of world renowned surgeon and past president of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, Dr. Alan Wittgrove of San Diego, California. Dr. Cavazos is the Medical Director of Bariatric Surgery at Northeast Baptist Hospital in San Antonio.
Dr. Cavazos received his undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at Austin. He attended medical school at the University of Texas at Houston. His residency in general surgery was completed at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver, Colorado. He then began fellowship training in San Diego. Dr. Cavazos is a board certified surgeon with the American Board of Surgery and a member of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.
Dr. Cavazos enjoys golf, skiing, fishing, and other sports. He is a native Texan and currently resides in San Antonio with his lovely wife and daughters.
Dr. Patel
Dr. Nilesh Patel is a fellowship-trained, minimally invasive surgeon. He has extensive experience in weight loss surgery procedures including laparoscopic gastric bypass, lap band, and revisional bariatric procedures.
Dr. Patel received his undergraduate degree at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. He then attended the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. His surgery residency was completed at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His fellowship in Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery was also completed at Allegheny General Hospital. Dr. Patel is currently the Associate Director of Bariatric Surgery at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio Medical Director of Bariatric Surgery and also serves as a consultant in Bariatric Surgery at Innova Hospital-San Antonio. He is a board certified surgeon with the American Board of Surgery, a member of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery and a member of the Advisory Board for www.ObesityHelp.com .
Outside the hospital, his hobbies include boating and traveling. Most importantly, he prides himself as a family man and cherishes his experiences as a new father. Dr. Patel lives in San Antonio with his charming wife and daughter.
John Pilcher Jr., MD, F.A.C.S.
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"Every patient meets with me directly and personally. I perform 4-8 Weight Loss procedures each week, mostly accomplished laparoscopically and some done by open incision. I have done around 1,000 Weight Loss procedures since beginning WLS in 1995. " - John Pilcher I was born in Roanoke, VA, which is located in a valley in the midst of the Blue Ridge mountains. I am the oldest of three children. I now have four children of my own, one of whom is studying at Penn State. My lovely wife Sheryl practices Plastic Surgery here in San Antonio. Following high school, I entered the University of Virginia, where I studied from 1982 until 1995. I obtained a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry in 1986, my MD degree in 1990, and finished surgical residency at UVa in 1995. Medical school was financed by means of an Air Force scholarship, which is important because it is the Air Force that brought me and my family to San Antonio from Virginia.
During my 5 year General Surgery residency at UVA, I trained intensively in the full range of surgical care, especially the practices of minimally invasive surgery, complex biliary surgery, surgical Intensive Care, and Weight Loss Surgery. Upon completion of surgical residency, I was selected to serve my Air Force duty at Wilford Hall Medical Center - the Air Force’s worldwide referral and medical training center - in San Antonio, TX. On the staff there, I was responsible for the care of a substantial volume of varied surgical problems, and for teaching surgical residents in the care of these patients. Based on these responsibilities and many hours of study, I progressed to achieve the status of Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery in February of 1996.
Wilford Hall also featured a tradition of maintaining a program for the surgical therapy of obesity - a program which was actually begun by Dr. Paul Selinkoff in the early 1980’s. I was asked to take over leadership of this program immediately upon my arrival at Wilford Hall; during my tour at Wilford Hall I performed approximately 120 Gastric Bypass procedures. My time at Wilford Hall (and these 120 patients) showed me how incredibly rewarding it is to help someone get their life back by freeing them of massive excess weight. Thus the practice of Bariatric Surgery, which began as an assigned interest for the benefit of surgical resident training, quickly became a career focus for me. At the completion of my military tour, my family and I chose to remain in San Antonio because we are fond of the people and the environment, and because of the outstanding opportunity to partner with Dr. Selinkoff. Since joining Dr. Selinkoff in 1999, I have made bariatric surgery the foundation of my surgical practice. As a full-time bariatric surgeon, I conduct 125 to 250 bariatric surgical operations each year.
Dana Reiss, MD
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Dr. Reiss was born in Fairfax VA into an army family and quickly moved to Georgia and Frankfurt Germany where they spent 6 years. At the age of 10 she returned to Georgia where her father; retired from the U.S. Army. She matriculated at Emory University in 1986 on a National Merit Scholarship. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in both Biology and Psychology. She then received her medical education at the Medical College of Georgia, in Augusta, where she graduated in the top 3rd of her class.
The next stop was in Mobile, Alabama where she completed a 5-year surgical residency. She was responsible for pre and postoperative patient care, emergency patient care, resident and medical student teaching as well as her operating room responsibility.
She was involved with the full range of general surgical problems. Following her residency she went to the University of Virginia to do a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery. While there she also functioned in the role as a general surgery attending physician where she dealt with many patients while teaching residents and students. She also performed a wide variety of procedures laparoscopically, including anti-reflux surgery, splenectomy, colon surgery, gastric bypass surgery, adrenal surgery, and complicated surgery on the bile ducts. Her association with the University of Virginia would lead to San Antonio through the efforts of Dr. John Pilcher who maintained his contacts with his alma mater. Once acquainted with Dr. Selinkoff and Dr. Pilcher, the opportunity to practice with these two fine surgeons in San Antonio was not to be missed.
Dr. Lloyd H. Stegemann, MD
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I was born on the last day of December, 1968 in Lampasas, TX where my father was stationed in the US Army. Shortly thereafter, my father left the military and we moved to the Midwest. I spent my formative years in Iowa, but finally returned to God's Country (Texas) during my high school years.
After high school, a basketball and academic scholarship took me to a small liberal arts college in the middle of Kansas. While school and basketball took up the majority of my time, I also became very involved in student government and eventually served as student body president. While I enjoyed my time in Kansas, as every true Texan knows there is no place like home. Realizing this, I transferred to Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kingsville) where I graduated with honors. While at Texas A&I (it will always be A&I to me), I continued to stay active in student affairs and served in several leadership positions. My time there was not all work, however, I also met my beautiful future wife. The next stop on my educational journey was medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston. Although I have always wanted to be a doctor and in particular a surgeon, it was through my studies and work with surgeons like Dr. "Red" Duke and Dr. John Potts that I truly knew surgery was my calling in life. On a personal note, it was during medical school that I married and we were blessed with the birth of twin daughters. My residency training in General Surgery brought our family to San Antonio in 1998.
My training has included extensive experience in the pre-, post-, and intraoperative care of surgical patients from the very young to the very old. I have also gained valuable experience in the laparoscopic (minimally invasive) approach to many operations. My responsibilities as a senior resident also included teaching both medical students and junior residents the art and science of surgery. While residency training demanded a hectic lifestyle, my wife and I still found time to add two more daughters to our family. When I have a free moment, I still enjoy playing basketball, reading, and collecting antique microscopes.
Although I have been trained extensively in the entire gamut of general surgery and feel comfortable performing most operations, my main interest is in weight loss surgery. I found myself drawn to this area not only because of the technical demands of the operation, but also to the profound impact this surgery has on the life of patients. Every time I see a patient back in the office or go to a gastric bypass support group meeting and hear the incredible stories of how people are once again enjoying their lives and living healthier, it reaffirms to me why I love weight loss surgery.
Physicians are members of the medical staff at one or more of Baptist Health System's affiliated hospitals. However, these physicians are independent contractors who are neither employees nor agents of those hospitals or of Baptist Health System and, as a result, none of these hospitals nor Baptist Health System is responsible for the acts of these physicians in their medical practices.