Weight Loss Surgery Near Woodridge, IL
Woodridge and Darien share a border, a high school district and 83rd Street, and Dr. Sofiane El Djouzi's Darien office is on that street, 5 to 10 minutes from anywhere in Woodridge. It is the closest bariatric surgeon's office to Woodridge by a wide margin, close enough that follow-up visits fit inside a lunch hour. Surgery takes place at University of Chicago AdventHealth Bolingbrook Hospital, 10 to 20 minutes south on Route 53, where the practice's second office sits on the hospital campus.
Where can I get weight loss surgery near Woodridge?
At the Darien office of Dr. El Djouzi, 2821 83rd Street, a dual board-certified bariatric surgeon who has performed more than 2,400 procedures, with surgery at University of Chicago AdventHealth Bolingbrook Hospital. He performs the gastric sleeve, the gastric bypass, SADI-S and revision surgery robotically, and he runs the practice's medical weight loss program for patients who want GLP-1 medication rather than surgery. The Darien office is also where the body composition scanner lives, so Woodridge medical patients have every visit close to home. Consultations are usually available within 48 hours.
How long is the drive from Woodridge to Darien and to Bolingbrook?
To the Darien office, 2821 83rd Street. Under 3 miles from the village center, typically 5 to 10 minutes: Woodridge Drive south to 83rd Street, then east past Lemont Road to the Crossroads of Darien plaza. From the north end of Woodridge near 75th Street, Woodward Avenue south to 83rd Street takes a few minutes longer. From Seven Bridges, 83rd Street east is a straight line. Darien office details.
To the Bolingbrook office, 420 S. Schmidt Rd., Suite 235. About 6 miles, typically 10 to 20 minutes: Route 53 south from 75th Street or Boughton Road to Remington Boulevard, then Schmidt Road to the hospital campus. I-355 south to Boughton Road is the alternative when 53 is slow. Bolingbrook office details.
Surgery day is the Bolingbrook drive, to the hospital at 500 Remington Blvd on the same campus as the Bolingbrook office.
Which office should you choose if you live in Woodridge?
Darien, for consultations, medical weight loss visits and follow-ups. It is five to ten minutes away, it has the scanner, and most Woodridge patients can be there and back inside an hour. Bolingbrook is where surgery happens, so surgical patients see the campus at the pre-operative visit and return there for the operation. Either office, or a video visit, works for the first consultation.
Where does surgery happen for Woodridge patients?
At University of Chicago AdventHealth Bolingbrook Hospital, 500 Remington Blvd, Bolingbrook, 10 to 20 minutes from Woodridge. It is MBSAQIP-accredited, meaning it meets national standards for bariatric staffing, equipment and outcome tracking, and a Blue Distinction Center for bariatric surgery, which most Blue Cross PPO plans require for full benefits. Dr. El Djouzi performs nearly every operation robotically through a few small incisions, and a sleeve usually means one night in the hospital. How the robotic sleeve is done.
Which procedures do Woodridge patients come for?
Gastric sleeve. Roughly four fifths of the stomach is removed along a staple line, leaving a narrow tube and no new connections. It is the practice's most common operation, and the staple line gets an endoscopic check before the incisions are closed.
For a Woodridge patient it means one night in Bolingbrook, a ten-minute drive home, and the first follow-up on 83rd Street about two weeks later. Liquids for the first week, soft foods after, and most desk workers back at work within a week. Gastric sleeve surgery.
Gastric bypass. A small pouch at the top of the stomach, connected to a loop of small intestine, so food bypasses most of the stomach. It is the better operation for stubborn type 2 diabetes, for reflux, and for a higher starting BMI, and it means vitamins every day from then on.
The choice between sleeve and bypass follows the pre-operative endoscopy that Dr. El Djouzi performs himself: significant reflux or a large hiatal hernia points toward the bypass. Gastric bypass surgery.
Revision surgery. A second operation when a sleeve, bypass or band has stopped working, whoever did the first one. Regain, a stretched sleeve, reflux after a sleeve and a slipped band each call for a different fix, and the fix is chosen after an endoscopy and imaging rather than from the story alone.
Woodridge patients who had a sleeve years ago and now have reflux or regain can be evaluated in Darien, five minutes away, before anyone talks about a second operation. For many the first step is medication. Bariatric revision surgery.
Hernia repair. A hiatal hernia seen at the pre-operative endoscopy is repaired during the weight loss operation itself. Abdominal wall hernias are repaired robotically on their own.
When a hernia repair and a weight loss operation can share one anesthetic, they do, and the patient recovers once. General and hernia surgery.
Which nearby towns use the Darien office too?
Woodridge is the center of the Darien office's catchment. Downers Grove, Lisle and Westmont come down Lemont Road or Woodward Avenue in about 15 minutes. Burr Ridge, Willowbrook and Hinsdale come west on 83rd Street or Plainfield Road. Lemont comes north on Lemont Road. East Naperville reaches Darien by 75th Street in 15 to 25 minutes, while south Naperville, Bolingbrook, Romeoville, Plainfield and Joliet are closer to the Bolingbrook office. If you are not sure which office is yours, book either one and the team will tell you at scheduling.
Can I get Wegovy or Zepbound in Woodridge without surgery?
Yes, and this is the program's home turf: Dr. El Djouzi prescribes and manages the medication at the Darien office, where the body composition scanner is, with a dietitian, weekly check-ins and biweekly video support. It fits patients below the surgical BMI, patients not ready for surgery, and patients who regained weight after an operation. Enrollment is $647 for the first month and then $297 a month at the founding rate. The medication is a separate prescription that many PPO plans cover in part. GLP-1 medication in Darien and Bolingbrook.
What happens at the first visit for Woodridge patients?
A 45 to 60 minute consultation with Dr. El Djouzi at the Darien office or by video. He reviews your weight history and health conditions and tells you which treatment fits, including when the honest answer is medication rather than surgery. Our team has already called your insurer, so you leave with your plan's requirements, your deductible and out-of-pocket maximum, and a written next step. Bring your insurance card, your medication list and any prior operative or endoscopy reports.
Which insurance is accepted for patients from Woodridge?
Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Cigna, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare are all in network, and the practice also sees Tricare and Medicare patients. The team reads your own plan document before the first visit, since an employer's plan can be stricter than the carrier's policy. What each plan requires. When a plan excludes bariatric surgery altogether, the published self-pay packages apply: $14,000 for a sleeve, $23,000 for a bypass, revisions quoted individually. Bariatric surgery cost.
Why do patients from Woodridge choose Dr. El Djouzi?
Because the surgeon next door is also the credentialed one. Dr. El Djouzi holds board certifications in General Surgery and in Obesity Medicine and completed a fellowship in advanced gastrointestinal, minimally invasive and bariatric surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, taught surgery as an Assistant Professor at Loyola University, and has performed more than 2,400 bariatric procedures, nearly all robotic. Your consultation is with him, and so is your surgery. Hablamos Español.
Ready to find out where you stand?
A 45 to 60 minute consultation at the Darien office or by video, usually within 48 hours. We verify your insurance first.
No referral needed · Hablamos Español · Most major insurance accepted
What else do patients from Woodridge ask?
Is the Darien office really that close?
Yes. From the village center it is under three miles down 83rd Street, in the Crossroads of Darien plaza at 83rd and Lemont Road.
Can I do everything except surgery in Darien?
Yes. Consultations, the medical weight loss program, pre-operative visits and follow-ups all happen in Darien. Surgery is in Bolingbrook, 10 to 20 minutes away.
I live in Downers Grove or Lisle. Which office?
Darien, by 75th Street or Lemont Road, usually within 15 minutes.
Where do I park at the Darien office?
In the plaza lot in front of the building.
Do you take Blue Cross PPO?
Yes, along with Cigna, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Tricare and Medicare. We verify your specific plan before your first visit.