Our Kansas City Bariatric Surgeons

Stanley Hoehn, MD

Stanley Hoehn, MD, is a Bariatric Center of Excellence Surgeon and serves as Medical Director of the Bariatric Surgery Program at Shawnee Mission Medical Center. Dr. Hoehn is one of the founding members of the Bariatric Center of Kansas City. He received his undergraduate degree from Union College in Lincoln, Neb., and graduated from medical school at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, Calif. He completed his surgical residency and internship at the University of Kansas Hospital in 1999.

Board-certified in general surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Hoehn is also a member of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. He received specialized training in 2002 from Drs. Wittgrove and Clark, founders of the laparoscopic technique for Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. He also trained with the Ina-Med Corporation, developer of the LapBand® system, in 2004. Dr. Hoehn offers three types of bariatric surgery through his practice; the Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass, the Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy and the Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band surgery.

Dr. Hoehn has performed over 1,000 weight loss surgeries at Shawnee Mission Medical Center. He is well-known for his advanced laparoscopic surgery practice in the Kansas City metropolitan area. His goal is to provide surgical excellence within a compassionate atmosphere, along with lifelong quality patient support.

Christopher Kowalski, MD

Dr. Christopher Kowalski is a bariatric and general surgeon who has been practicing at Temple University Hospital and Health System since 2003. During that time he practiced advanced laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures related both to bariatric surgery and general surgery.

As an assistant professor of surgery he taught at the Temple University School of Medicine both to medical students and residents. Between 2003 and 2005 he also established and was named director of the laparoscopic living kidney donor program at Temple University Hospital.

In 2006, he was named director of bariatric surgery at Jeanes Hospital in Philadelphia, one of the Temple Health System hospitals. Since then his practice has been completely devoted to bariatric surgery. He performs laparoscopic and open gastric bypass, laparoscopic banding and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

His undergraduate studies were at King’s College in Pennsylvania. He graduated Temple University School of Medicine in 1993 and completed a general surgery residency at The Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC in 2002.

He then went on to complete a one year fellowship in advanced laparoscopic and bariatric surgery at Saint Peter’s University Hospital. He trained with Dr. Robert E. Brolin, one of the past presidents if the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

Recently, he has completed advanced endoscopic training at Ohio State University relating to bariatric surgery. He is board certified in general surgery and a full member of the ASMBS.
Dr. Kowalski has a full commitment to weight loss surgery both pre-operatively and in the post-operative care. He has performed over 700 bariatric cases since he began practicing.

Special interests involve new, minimally invasive endoscopic treatments for obesity.

C. Thomas Hitchcock, MD

C. Thomas Hitchcock, MD, is a Board-certified general surgeon, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

Dr. Hitchcock completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan. He graduated from medical school and completed his surgical residency at the University of Kansas Hospital, and then completed a surgical externship at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Hitchcock received specialized training in laparoscopic weight-loss surgery in 2002 from Drs. Wittgrove and Clark, founders of the laparoscopic technique for Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. He also trained in 2004 with the Ina-Med Corporation, developers of the LapBand® gastric banding system. The bariatric surgery that Dr. Hitchcock performs is Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding.

Dr. Hitchcock is a well-respected practitioner in the Kansas City metropolitan area, and has served as Chief of Surgery and Chief of Staff at Shawnee Mission Medical Center. Dr. Hitchcock has been involved with weight-loss surgery for more than 25 years and is very excited about the completely integrated weight-loss surgery program now available through Shawnee Mission Medical Center.