Dr. Maher El Chaar
Dr. Maher El Chaar is the Fellowship Director of Bariatric and Foregut Surgery for the St. Luke’s Weight Management Center, and the Network Director of Robotic Surgery and Innovation.
About
Every patient has a story and every story is very important to us. These stories give us the passion and energy to continue to help our patients.”
– Dr. Maher El Chaar
Dr. Maher El Chaar completed his undergraduate studies at the American University of Beirut (AUB). After completing his undergraduate studies, he earned his medical degree from the American University of Beirut Faculty of Medicine, which is one of the top and most prestigious medical schools in the Middle East and Gulf region.
Experience
Dr. Maher El Chaar is an active member of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) and American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). In addition, Dr. EL Chaar is a member of the national Obesity Action Coalition (OAC). Dr Maher El Chaar is also an active member of the Clinical issues Committee (CIC) of the ASMBS, a committee responsible for the development of guidelines and recommendations for the practice of bariatric surgery.
Dr. Maher El Chaar is a national speaker who presented at multiple national and international meetings and is also a consultant for many leading medical equipment companies in the United States. Dr. El Chaar is very involved in surgical education of medical students and residents and organization of basic and advanced bariatric surgery courses on a regular basis for general surgeons and practicing bariatric surgeons.
Dr. Maher El Chaar published many manuscripts in relation to bariatric surgery and received many research grants. He was recently named as one of America’s Top Surgeons in bariatric surgery. In addition, Dr. El Chaar received a bariatric surgeon of excellence designation by the ASMBS.
Dr. Maher El Chaar currently serves as Co-Medical Director of Bariatric Surgery at St. Luke’s University Hospital in Pennsylvania. The St. Luke’s Weight Loss Center is an MBSAQIP (Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program) accredited center and a center of quality and excellence as designated by many third party payers. The center is a comprehensive center that includes, in addition to the bariatric surgeons, a bariatrician, social workers, dieticians, physician assistants, nurses and a coordinator. The center conducts regular information seminars, support groups and educational courses tailored to bariatric patients. The center performs around 500 cases a year including gastric bypass surgery, sleeve gastrectomy, gastric banding and revisional surgery.
Dr. El Chaar recently published his second book about bariatric surgery for patients preparing for or currently on their weight loss journey.
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Education
After earning his medical degree, Dr. Maher El Chaar moved to the greater Philadelphia area and completed an internship in general surgery at Drexel University-Hahnemann Hospital. After completing his internship, Dr. Maher El Chaar joined St. Luke’s University Health Network and completed his general surgery residency program in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. During his senior years of training, Dr. Maher El Chaar was named resident of the year for two consecutive years.
Following his training in general surgery, Dr. Maher El Chaar joined the University of North Carolina (UNC) clinical campus in Charlotte, North Carolina where he completed a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery, endoscopy and bariatric surgery. In addition to his clinical fellowship in North Carolina, Dr. Maher El Chaar completed a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship at Weill Medical College-New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) in New York. His area of research focused on formation of scar tissue, fibrosis and the role of growth factors in collagen formation.
