Interview with Dr Jason Maani – Bariatric Surgeon Sydney

Let’s start at the beginning Jason, how long have you been doing this? 

I’ve been consulting for 10yrs, specialising in General, Upper GI and Bariatric Surgery.

What is your role and how do you contribute to part of the team? 

I am a consultant bariatric and general surgeon. I spend my time reviewing patients with obesity and metabolic problems who need to lose weight to improve their health. We then help them with their lifestyle changes, so they can maintain their results long-term. 

Why did you get into the bariatric field? 

After working with upper GI cancer, I found that metabolic weight loss surgery was quite rewarding in terms of the benefits that a patient could achieve from surgery; it can touch upon a lot of areas of their life with just one operation.  One operation can help a patient with diabetes, blood pressure, and sleep apnea as well as risk reduction for cancers and ischemic heart disease. But we are also helping their day-to-day lives, from people’s self-esteem, confidence, their ability to keep up with children or grandchildren. The impact it has on families is truly rewarding.

I also like the nature of (bariatric) surgery; it’s keyhole surgery. This means that patients recover quite quickly, and surgery is less painful. The benefits are greatly outweighing the risk of surgery which makes it all that more worthwhile. 

Why are you passionate about caring for those living with obesity? 

I know what a frustrating condition it can be, as people have tried for many years usually to get on top of it before they visit me. But because of the nature of the disease and the illness, it also means they have probably failed many times and it’s incredibly disheartening… part of that issue is the lack of education about obesity as a chronic disease. We help people to understand the science behind it and how it’s stopping them from getting the results they need. We impact their biology so they have more control over their life and their weight. Taking something that’s been impossible and a big source of frustration into something achievable that they can maintain for the rest of their lives. 

What’s it like working at UGIS? 

It’s nice working in a collaborative environment with other experts in the field surgically as well as our extensive medical and health support team. 

What’s the favourite part of your day? 

Watching Netflix after the kids have gone to sleep! Only kidding. It’s a balance. I enjoy consulting because you’re talking to different people and being able to offer them a way to improve their overall quality of life. But I also enjoy surgery, as it’s manual and technical… so it’s nice having both sides, the best of both worlds. If I only did one or the other it would get a bit monotonous, but I have quite a balanced schedule so it works well for me.

What do you do when you’re not being a surgeon? 

Spend time with my young family and we enjoy doing outdoor activities, games and travelling. 

Where’s your favourite place to travel? 

Pre-kids used to go to the US a lot as I have family in Seattle and Canada (a lot of my family lives in Canada). We also visit the South Island of New Zealand frequently, and pre-pandemic we would travel to Asia a lot too as that’s quite close. 

Favourite movie? 

I’m a big Star Wars fan and Amadeus.

What sort of music do you like? 

Actually, I like quite a mix of music. I like all the ‘old school’ music from the 60s and 70s like Led Zepplin, but then enjoy the more modern bands like indie pop or house music, with a bit of hip hop thrown in there for good measure.