Karen E. Gibbs, MD

Karen E. Gibbs, MD, is chair of surgery at Yale New Haven Health System’s Bridgeport Hospital. Dr. Gibbs specializes in minimally invasive bariatric, foregut, and endocrine procedures and is board-certified in obesity medicine.

Dr. Gibbs says she always knew she would pursue a medical career. “It might sound cliché, but I wanted to help people and give back to the community,” she says. “I volunteered as a high school student and had the opportunity to go into an old-fashioned operating theater where you can look down on the surgery from above. It just clicked for me. I went to medical school knowing I’d do surgery.”

While she enjoys all types of surgery, gastrointestinal (GI) procedures grabbed her attention. “I love the physiology and anatomy of the GI tract, and it’s such an integral part of our everyday lives,” Dr. Gibbs says. “I enjoy doing minimally invasive surgery because of the benefits it offers patients, including smaller incisions, less pain, and earlier return to activities of daily living.”

She was drawn to bariatric surgery because of its technical challenges. “I love the fact that we, as a team, get to help people take care of a disease and see a significant change in their lives over a reasonable amount of time,” Dr. Gibbs says.

Weight-loss surgery patients, Dr. Gibbs adds, are some of the most grateful she has encountered. “When you think of the limitations, stigma, and social issues they suffer quietly through, you can understand,” she says. “Somehow, it’s acceptable to disregard and discriminate against people of size, and when they are able to start regaining their health, mobility, and their livelihood, it’s an incredible transformation.”

Before a bariatric surgery patient meets with her, they are invited to attend an informational session with a surgeon from the bariatric team. The surgeon will spend an hour discussing weight-loss surgery, reviewing the risks and benefits, and answering any questions. “By the time they meet me, they have already learned a lot of and can ask me more specific questions,” she says.

When she does sit down with a new patient, Dr. Gibbs says she makes sure they understand that a comprehensive team is with them the whole time. “Their journey does not stop with surgery. Weight-loss surgery requires lifelong follow-up, and we are committed to them the whole way,” she says. “It requires a village, and patients aren’t just coming to see one person. It’s a team.”

Dr. Gibbs research interests involve clinical outcomes in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery.