From 715 pounds to a new life: DeOndray Pope’s journey after bariatric surgery

By Emma Avila, epackard1@iuhealth.org, writer for IU Health's Metro Region

DeOndray Pope transformed his health through bariatric surgery at IU Health North, losing over 275 pounds in six months and regaining the energy and confidence to embrace life.

DeOndray Pope is six months post-bariatric surgery and says he can feel the difference in his body and his life.

Almost twenty years ago, Pope lost both of his parents within one month. His father passed away from a stroke and his mother died shortly after battling diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

Pope knew he wanted to make healthier choices in his life before the age of 40. At his heaviest, he was 715 pounds.

“I knew I wanted to make a change,” he says.

Pope connected with the Bariatric Surgery team at IU Health North and began virtual appointments in June of 2020. Dr. Dimitrios Stefanidis, a surgeon with the program, told Pope that he would need to lose 100 pounds prior to surgery.

“This was to decrease operative risk,” Dr. Stefanidis explains. “The surgery can be challenging in patients with very high body mass index (BMI) due to a large liver and central obesity, which decrease working space for the procedure. After some amount of weight loss, surgery becomes easier and safer.”

Pope lost 30 or 40 pounds, but he gained it back.

“At the time, I just fell off the program,” he says.

But in 2024, he began seeing Dr. Stefanidis again. Pope had changed his diet and unhealthy surroundings.

“At that time, I lost the amount of weight I needed to have lost,” he says.

He had a duodenal switch surgery at IU Health North on February 5, a day after what would have been his mother’s birthday. Duodenal switch surgery is a bariatric procedure that creates a smaller stomach and bypasses a significant portion of the small intestine.

“It is a restrictive and malabsorptive operation that not only decreases the intake of food but also does not allow the absorption of all calories in the ingested food,” Dr. Stefanidis explains. “We typically will offer this procedure to patients with very high BMI as it is the most effective bariatric operation we have today and helps the most with diabetes.”

Now, six months post-surgery, Pope is noticing major differences in his life. At his most recent appointment, he weighed 440 pounds.

“Overall, I feel amazing,” he says. “I’m tackling life in very wonderful ways.”

He just went to Cancun to celebrate his birthday. He recalls he hadn’t been in a swimming pool since high school.

He is also looking forward to participating in the TREO Foundation’s The Walk, which will be hosted at IU Health North on Saturday, Sept. 13. The event funds research, education and access to treatment to combat obesity.

“I’m looking forward to interacting with more individuals who have gone through the process and support the cause in general,” Pope says. “I want to complete the entire thing because now I have the energy to do it.”

Now, Pope hopes his journey will encourage others looking to make a change in their lives.

“Dr. Stefanidis was incredible. All the dieticians, nurses, medical assistants, they have all been so encouraging, very helpful,” he says. “If I could encourage anybody, just make sure at the end of the day, you focus on your ‘why’ and make sure it’s really, really personal to you.”

“DeOndray represents an example for how bariatric surgery can completely change someone’s life around and allow them to have a new start,” Dr. Stefanidis adds. I often times think bariatric surgery gives patients their quality of life back.”