Claire, Sarah and Elizabeth's Story

Claire, Sarah, and Elizabeth (Liz) Verrico, affectionately known within the Penn Medicine bariatric surgery community as the “Three Bariatric Sisters,” have all undergone gastric sleeve surgery in 2020, just a few months apart.

The Verrico sisters have always supported each other through the years. They tried various diets such as WW, formerly known as Weight Watchers, worked with a nutritionist, and worked out with personal trainers. But, as the years went on, their weight continued to fluctuate. They decided seek another solution.

“I think that together, we've all dieted and lost weight together, and then together, gained it back, and then individually, we've all dieted and lost weight and then gained it back,” Sarah said. “Once Elizabeth started working with bariatric patients, she started mentioning to us that the struggle doesn't have to be this hard. She saw how much [bariatric surgery] has helped them.” I feel like it's confusing in it's current form.”

Because of Claire’s familiarity with the Penn Medicine bariatric surgery program, the sisters decided it might be the right fit for them to lose weight and develop a healthier lifestyle long term.

The Penn Way

The Bariatric program at Penn Medicine is one of the best in the region and is an accredited MBSAQIP Accredited Center – Comprehensive at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Hospital and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.

“After watching a friend of ours go through another program, and what was really different, really stood out, is the amount of support the Penn group gave,” Sarah said “And the continued support, that it didn't just stop the second they discharged us from the hospital. That we have continued support, and they are always available.

“When someone asks, ‘How’d you lose the weight?’ I respond, ‘Call Dr. Wernsing.’”

Liz, a surgical fellow, also recommends the program – and Dr. David Wernsing – to others.

“From being a colleague as a surgeon, as well as from a patient perspective, I always recommend and always give out Dr. Wernsing's name to everybody that I meet who asks me for information about the surgeries,” she said. “I would 100,000% do this surgery again. And the only thing, I wish I would have done it sooner, because of all of the positive life changes that I've experienced.”

One Meeting Changed the Lives of Three Sisters

Claire, 33, the Core Laboratory Manager at Pennsylvania Hospital, has worked for the hospital since 2014. During her tenure, she suffered from migraines and was referred to a nutritionist and was recommended to try certain medications to help with her migraines but could also help with weight loss. However, this option did not stick. One day, she decided to sign up for one of the bariatric information sessions. She was a bit nervous about going, but decided to give it a try and to bring her sister along.

“I convinced Sarah to go along with me, because I was a little nervous and I didn't want to go by myself. So that's how we got introduced to the Penn Medicine Bariatric Surgery Program, because we attended one of the info sessions,” she said.

Although Sarah, 36, initially went to the session to support her sister, she decided it might be a long-term, sustainable option for her, too.

“I went in with Claire, I went in to support her. I had no intention of going through with this myself,” Sarah said. “But that information session really opened my mind up to the possibility that maybe this was a solution, finally, to end the yo-yo dieting.”

Their middle sister, Liz, 35, is a general surgeon and a plastic surgery fellow, who performed gastrectomies while she was a resident at Hackensack Meridian Health Palisades in New Jersey. She was well-informed of the procedure and discussed possibilities with her sisters.

Finding the Right Surgeon: Dr. Wernsing

Claire and Sarah met David S. Wernsing, MD, director of Bariatric Surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital, during their weight loss surgery information session, which took place before the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. The sisters liked Dr. Wernsing right away and were impressed by his presentation and the time he takes with each of his patients.

“He is very self-aware,” Claire said. “He was late because he was with a patient, and I thought, ‘Okay, this is the kind of provider I want to be with.”.

Dr. Wernsing has been a surgeon for more than 25 years and views weight loss surgery as just one part of a comprehensive lifestyle changes for better overall health.

“Weight loss surgery is a powerful tool to enable patients to have success in regaining control over their lives,” he said. “At the end of the day, it is just a tool. Like all tools, if you use it well, you could do well and if you don't, you won't over time.

“It's pretty profound, it's why I do it. It's seeing patients who have been wrestling with all sorts of issues over their lives, suddenly be given an opportunity in order to take better control over that. That's gratifying.”

When Dr. Wernsing first met the Claire, which he affectionately calls “sister number one” he told her that she would set the example for her siblings. “If she does okay, everyone else will be okay,” he joked.

Although Dr. Wernsing has cared for members of the same family before, it was the first time he prepared several members of one family for bariatric surgeries at the same time.

“Husbands and wives, probably other family members like siblings, like a parent and a child, it's happened a lot over years,” Dr. Wernsing said.

Preparing Together for Bariatric Surgery

Claire was the first of the sisters to have a vertical sleeve gastrectomy on March 11, 2020, just days before much of the United States went into lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“They (Penn Medicine Bariatric Team) were very methodical, very non-judgmental, and they just wanted you to be the best version of you that you could be,” Claire said “You have a question, you shoot them a message, you have a response from somebody from your team very quickly. And that was actually very helpful. And so through the operative stage, there were no surprises. Every step of the way, they tell you what's going to happen, how you're going to feel, where you need to be, and exactly what happened.”

Because Penn Medicine was not performing bariatric surgeries in the early weeks of the pandemic, Sarah’s surgery was postponed to May 19, 2020. Luckily, the sisters were still able to assist each other every step of the way.

“Claire and I had gone just about every step of it together, from the initial consultations and that information session, the support group meetings that we had to go through, and even tried to get all of our follow-up appointments at the same time, so that we were going around the same pace,” Sarah said “With the plan being that we would get surgery right after each other and possibly even on the same day. That way we would have each other to support for that.”

Despite the two-month delays, everything else was smooth sailing for Sarah.

“I felt the entire team from the nutritionist and even the physicians, even the patient coordinator in the practice made everything so easy because they were so well organized,” Sarah said. “They laid it out for us explicitly.”

Liz was the last of the sisters to have bariatric surgery on Nov. 10, 2020.

“I went through the entire process during COVID, so all my pre-op, with the exception of the very last pre-op appointment, were virtual,” Liz said. “Despite being virtual, I was always very connected, I always felt communication was open, I still felt supported. I didn't feel neglected, and I felt that the ability to continue that care despite the pandemic is what allowed me to get through the pre-op process very quickly, smoothly, easily, and ready for the actual surgery.”

Road to Recovery

The recovery process can vary from patient to patient.

Most patients prepare for physical recovery but there is also a psychological component that can sometimes be overlooked.

“The first six weeks of recovery is great, because after maybe five or six days, you feel good. You feel like you can do whatever you want, but you can't,” said Sarah, who had no complications from surgery. “I'll never forget the first time I ate too quickly and I ate too much. And the sleeve let me know, right away, ‘You overdid it,’ Which is how it's supposed to function. But for every step of the way during my recovery, I had the nutritionist calling me, I had the nurses checking in on me. All these supporters through my entire recovery.”

Liz’s surgical experience also was free of complications, however, like Sarah, she struggled to adjust to the “new normal.” But, she was thankful to have something not everyone has: her sisters’ support.

“I had both Claire and Sarah, who had just recently gone through the same process … to really support me throughout the whole thing,” she said.

Life After Surgery

The surgery has changed the sisters' lives tremendously. They have found new ways to be active and have incorporated hiking and biking into their lifestyle.

“I pretty consistently take a good five to six-mile walk with one of my friends, who actually had begun the process of the Penn Bariatric Surgery Program,” Sarah said.

She is also thankful that she is able to participate in more activities with her child.

Liz has noticed drastic changes, too.

“I notice the most change, besides being able to breathe easily, easily move, run up and down stairs, and be on my feet all day. Within my job, I've been able to operate better for longer periods of time,” she said.

The support continues for the sisters even more than a year after their surgeries. Liz and Claire live together follow the same diet and hold each other accountable.

“I think that eating with other people who have been through this process is also a really positive thing,” Liz said.

Claire agreed, mentioning that healthy decisions, such as biking to work instead of commuting by car have become second nature.

“These decisions are just a lot easier and they're more natural now,” she said. “I feel better. I'm not as worried when I go in the public anymore, people looking at me, how much space am I taking up. Just a general sense of happiness that I didn't realize I was missing in my life.”

If you'd like to learn more about the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery program at Penn Medicine, sign up for a free online information session.