Dr. Bradley Thaemert and Surgical Institute’s Innovative Weight Loss Procedure Gaining Steam

As a board-certified general surgeon with Surgical Institute of South Dakota since 1998, Dr. Bradley Thaemert has performed more than 1,000 bariatric weight loss procedures, including gastric bypass, gastric band and gastric balloon procedure, as well as the innovative procedure of Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG).

As one of only a handful of surgeons in the country who does the ESG procedure, Dr. Thaemert took part in a Multi-center ESG Randomized Intervention Trial, or MERIT, sponsored by the Mayo Clinic, which included the participation of nine medical groups throughout the United States. 

Results of that study were highly favorable and consistent with what the surgeons anticipated: out of 280 ESG procedure patients, 45% saw more excess weight loss as compared to only making lifestyle diet and exercise changes and 91% of patients had maintained their weight loss after two years. 

Although highly successful, because the procedure is new, not all insurance companies will cover it--something Dr. Thaemert and others involved in the MERIT trial are striving to change. 

The next step, says Dr. Thaemert, is spreading the news about how safe and successful this surgery is for the right candidates. The study results were accepted into The Lancet, one of the most well-respected and recognized medical journals in the country, in July 2022; a big stride in garnering national and international recognition for the procedure. 

The non-invasive nature of the procedure is one advantage of the ESG procedure. To accomplish that, Dr. Thaemert and other surgeons use an endoscopic suturing instrument called an OverStitch device, manufactured and marketed by Apollo. Although the OverStitch has been FDA approved for years and used in other types of procedures, it has only recently been approved for the ESG procedure, thanks in part to the MERIT study results. Surgeons around the country are being trained to use the OverStitch device, as the growing company is trying to get the device into more hands. 

“Now that there is there is FDA approval for the OverStitch ESG system, it’s our hope that insurance companies will start to cover the ESG procedure so more patients can have it done,” Dr. Thaemert explained. 

Dr. Thaemert’s group at Surgical Institute is part of the exclusive network that is able to perform the ESG procedure. “The surgeons who can perform the procedure are very limited at this time,” he said. “Sioux Falls is fortunate to have access to this innovative procedure right here, because the next closest place to have it done is the Mayo Clinic and beyond that, Chicago.”

Because of its minimally invasive nature performed on an outpatient basis, ESG is an excellent option for people who are obese but not interested in a permanent procedure. Viable candidates for the ESG procedure are obese, but not morbidly so, with a body mass index of 30-40 and other health conditions such as diabetes or hypertension. Around 80% of patients show improvement in those comorbidities post-procedure. 

A fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Thaemert graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine and completed his general surgery residency at Gunderson Medical Foundation-Lutheran Hospital in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Professionally, he is an active member of the South Dakota State Medical Association (SDSMA), the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons (SLS), the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) and the Seventh District Medical Society. He served as the South Dakota chair of the Committee on Trauma for the American College of Surgeons and is the medical director for the Avera McKennan Bariatric Institute. 

Dr. Thaemert holds an academic appointment at the University of South Dakota as a clinical professor in the Department of Surgery and is active in the education of medical students and residents. He is also an Advanced Trauma Life Support instructor.