Meet the Surgeon

Michael W. Johnell, MD, FACS
Bariatric Surgeon
Director, Bariatric Surgery North Colorado Medical Center

Dr. Johnell is a native of Long Island, N.Y. He and his family came to Greeley to develop his own bariatric surgery program through the Greeley Medical Clinic in June 2001. After the laparoscopic gastric bypass procedure was introduced in the United States, Dr. Johnell completed specialized training in the procedure at Southwestern University in Dallas. In 2000, he integrated the laparoscopic gastric bypass into his general surgery practice in Panama City, Fla.

After 16 years in a group practice in Florida, he was recruited to Greeley. As of December of 2007, Dr.  Johnell has performed more than 570 gastric bypasses and more than 750 adjustable gastric band procedures. In our series of more than 1,000 patients, there have been no mortalities, and fewer than 1 percent of cases have had to be converted from a laparoscopic approach to an open procedure.

Dr. Johnell completed his undergraduate work at Hofstra University in Long Island, N.Y. He then attended Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C. General surgery residency training was undertaken at New York University, New York City, and Rutgers Medical School, New Brunswick, N.J. He went on to St. Louis University, St. Louis, Mo., for a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery. Dr. Johnell is board certified in general surgery by the American Board of Medical Specialties, is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and is a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.