Support Groups

The West Penn Allegheny Health System's Bariatric Surgery Center offers support groups at both the East and North Offices. These informal meetings allow time for personal sharing, encouragement and discussion. Sessions are offered for individuals who have already undergone bariatric surgery and for individuals who are considering the surgery. Specifics for support groups at both offices are listed below.

East Office - West Penn Hospital

We have two regularly scheduled support groups that meet on a monthly basis:   

• Main Support Group and Informational Session - We strongly recommend that patients considering surgical treatment of obesity attend our monthly Bariatric Surgery Support Group Meetings both before and after surgery.

• Post-op. Support Small Group - This group is for patients who have undergone surgery.  It is recommended for patients who would like additional psychological support in dealing with the adjustments after bariatric surgery. We strongly recommend that patients attend this meeting at least once after surgery.

To receive informational flyers about meetings of these groups, please call 412-235-5900.

Informational Session and Main Support Group

The East Office of the WPAHS Bariatric Surgery Center has a free monthly support group meeting that is open to the public:

• This group meets on the third Monday of each month (except December - no meeting) at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital at 6 p.m. in the Wintergarden Auditorium on the 1st floor (near the cafeteria).
• It is for patients who have had surgery and also those who are considering surgery.
• There is an informational talk first (summary of the information in this hand-out), a question-and-answer period, then a speaker and special topics such as patient stories, dietitian, psychologist, plastic surgeon, etc.
• Time is then allotted for small group discussion. 
• Patients are a great source of information. It is important that patients speak with other patients before and after surgery in order to get their perspective and share experiences. 
• This is a good opportunity to bring a friend or family member.

Post-op. Support Small Group

There is also a small discussion support group specifically for patients who have already had bariatric surgery:

• There is a small fee for this group.
• We strongly encourage that patients attend this meeting at least once after surgery.
• This post-op. support group is led by a psychologist or counselor and focuses more on dealing with adapting to the life changes after surgery.
• It is a smaller group setting and patients need to sign up by calling 412-235-5913.
• It takes place the third Monday of each month at West Penn Hospital.

North Office - Allegheny General Hospital

Weight Loss Surgery Support Group

The Support Group is open to all individuals who have had weight loss surgery or are planning to have weight loss surgery along with their loved ones. Individuals who are planning to have weight loss surgery are encouraged to attend at least two meetings prior to surgery. These informal meetings allow time for personal sharing, encouragement and discussion. Each meeting includes an educational topic specifically designed to be of interest to those who have had weight loss surgery. The topics cover a wide range of interests, some topics we have covered include:

• Eating tips for getting through the holidays
• How to Evaluate the Quality of your Diet?
• A Grocery Shopping Makeover!
• Bone Health After Weight Loss Surgery
• Emotions - how they can affect our eating patterns
• Physical strengthening
• Exercises you can do even if your knees are bad
• Basic Exercises for all major muscle groups

The Support Group meets each month on the Fourth Thursday at 6 pm

In November we will meet on the Third Thursday of the month due to the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Join us! We will have a full line up of new topics to explore together. Come ready for a fun evening with others who are making health a priority.