Vivek N. Prachand

Vivek N. Prachand, MD, is a minimally invasive abdominal surgeon and an expert in opioid use, dependency and abuse. As Chief Quality Officer in the Department of Surgery, he leads efforts to minimize opioid misuse and has developed programs aimed at reducing opioid prescriptions. He has also spearheaded work to create a safe medication disposal program for patients and community members to discard unused and unwanted drugs, including opioids, to limit opportunities for abuse. Skilled at the most advanced laparoscopic procedures, Dr. Prachand performs more than 200 laparoscopic abdominal surgeries each year.

One of his special interests is minimally invasive obesity surgery. In addition to performing the laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy procedures, he was the first surgeon in the Midwest to perform a totally laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch. Dr. Prachand is one of a handful of surgeons worldwide who regularly performs the laparoscopic duodenal switch for super-obese (body mass index greater than 50) and super-super-obese patients (body mass index greater than 60). He has performed this complex procedure in more than 300 patients.

Dr. Prachand is an approved surgeon in the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery's Centers of Excellence program. He also serves as an instructor and proctor for advanced bariatric surgery training programs.