Welcome to the Website of Dr. Lou Harold

At the Central Florida office of Dr. Lou Harold, we are here to help you with obesity in every way possible. Severe obesity is a chronic condition that is very difficult to treat. Surgery to promote weight loss by restricting food intake or interrupting digestive processes is an option for severely obese people.

If you are at least 100 pounds overweight and have tried many times to lose weight, without lasting success, then Obesity Surgery, gastric bypass or gastric banding, may be an option. Gastric bypass surgery reduces the stomach size and has provided the best long term results for those who cannot lose weight in other ways.

Gastric Bypass (also known as the Roux-en-Y) is a combination procedure using both restrictive and mal-absorptive elements meaning that you absorb fewer nutrients and calories. With this surgery, first the stomach is stapled to make a smaller pouch. Then most of the stomach and part of the intestines are bypassed by attaching (usually stapling) a part of the intestine to the small stomach pouch. Gastric bypass is non-adjustable.

Click HERE to see the full schedule of dates.

Location:

Healthcentral Hospital
10000 W. Colonial Drive
Ocoee, FL 34761

See Map to Healthcentral Hospital

Gastric Banding, on the other hand, involves no cutting or stapling, is adjustable, is designed for sustained weight loss and there’s low malnutrition risk. The Gastric Banding, is a restrictive procedure during which an adjustable gastric band is placed around the upper part of the stomach. This creates a smaller stomach pouch, which restricts the amount of food that can be consumed at one time and increases the time it takes for the stomach to empty. As a result, patients achieve sustained weight loss by limiting food intake, reducing appetite, and slowing digestion.

Sleeve Gastrectomy:  The vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, or Sleeve Gastrectomy, is a type of restrictive weight loss surgery.  Vertical gastrectomy surgery causes weight loss by restricting the amount of food that is able to be consumed before feeling full.

Dr. Harold will discuss your goals and suitability for obesity surgery and develop a plan of action for you to achieve the results you desire.

Find out if you are a candidate forobesity surgery. Are you:

• Unlikely to lose weight successfully with further non-surgical measures?
• Well informed about the surgical procedure and the effects of treatment?
• Determined to lose weight and improve your health?
• Aware of how your life may change after the operation, adjustment to the side effects of the surgery, including need to chew well and inability to eat large meals?
• Aware of the potential for serious complications, the associated dietary restrictions, and the occasional failures?
• Committed to lifelong medical follow up?

To help you answer these questions and more, contact Dr. Harold's friendly, professional office staff for an appointment:

407-839-3700

Dr Lou Harold is a fourth generation Floridian, born and raised in Sanford. He attended Florida A&M University in Tallahassee Florida, and medical school at Stanford University, Stanford California, graduating in 1982. Dr Harold returned to Central Florida, and completed his residency in General Surgery at Orlando Regional Medical Center in Orlando Florida.

Dr Harold began his private practice in Orlando in 1982. During the first ten years of private practice, he was on the trauma teaching staff at Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he is still on staff.  He is also on staff at Dr. Phillips and HealthCentral.

Dr Harold is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and a Member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. He is also a member of the National Medical Association, and a member of the Central Florida Medical Society, and was its President Elect 1992-93.

Dr Harold continues to make strides in meeting the needs of the community by recognizing the problems of obesity in our nation. He sub-specializes in Bariatric Surgery, and has been doing Gastric Bypass surgery since 2002.

He is a speaker at several community health awareness events, with special emphasis on AIDS education, prevention and testing, and Obesity issues.

A Body Mass Index calculator works in a pretty simple manner. It takes your height and weight and determines if - in general - your weight is in a healthy range for your height.

Measure your height (including feet and inches) while standing barefoot, then weigh yourself.

A body mass index (BMI) above 40 means about 100 pounds overweight for men and 80 pounds overweight for women, which indicates that a person is severely obese and therefore a candidate for surgery. Surgery also may be an option for people with a BMI between 35 and 40 who suffer from life threatening cardiopulmonary problems, for example: severe sleep apnea or obesity-related heart disease, or diabetes. However, as in other treatments for obesity, successful results depend mainly on motivation and behavior. Contact us for more information regarding weight loss.

 Call for more Information: (407) 839-3700

Lou Harold, M.D.
General & Bariatric Surgery
 (407) 839-3700      Fax (407) 839-0640
Web address: www.louharoldmd.com     Email: louharoldmd@gmail.com

SOS Meetings
(Support Obesity Surgery)

Meetings are held the (4th) Fourth SATURDAY of each month,
except May, November & December, as shown below.

Healthcentral Hospital.
10000 West Colonial Dr. (Hwy 50)
Ocoee FL 34761
(407) 296-1000
(West Hwy 50, past West Oaks Mall)

Meeting are held the (4th) Fourth SATURDAY of each month except May, November & December.

Time: 10:00am to 12:00 noon

Due to the Covid19 Pandemic, meetings may change to virtual from month to month, based on CDC guidelines.

Please send email to Karen to get email link for virtual meetings.

karen.weissman@orlandohealth.com

2023

Time: 10:00am to 12:00 noon

January 28rd, 2023
February 25th, 2023
March 25th, 2023
April 22th, 2023
May 20th, 2023 (3rd Saturday)
June 24th, 2023
July 22th, 2023 (virtual)
August 26th, 2023
September 25th, 2023
October 28th, 2023
November 18st, 2023 (3rd Saturday)
December 14th, 2023 (3rd Saturday)