About us

Dr. Frits Berends has been a gastrointestinal surgeon since 1999. He obtained his PhD on the subject of 'exploratory operations for solid abdominal organs' (‘kijkoperaties voor solide buikorganen’). In 2004, he and Dr. Ignace Janssen started the Vitalys clinic for gastric reductions in Arnhem. In Arnhem he was involved in the introduction of the laparoscopic gastric bypass in the Netherlands. Since then he has performed many thousands of weightloss procedures. He was responsible for a number of adjustments to the technique of gastric bypass surgery, which have now been adopted by many surgeons in The Netherlands and around the world. 

Dr. Edo Aarts was captivated early in his training as a surgeon by all that is involved in gastric reduction surgery. Together with Dr. Frits Berends and Dr. Ignace Janssen, he set up a research department for gastric surgery at Rijnstate in Arnhem in 2007, which he supervised until 2018. Not surprisingly, he also obtained his PhD on that subject in 2014. Dr. Aarts has gained extensive experience in gastric reduction surgery at The Rijnstate Hospital. He has done a lot of scientific research with numerous publications and is a frequent speaker at international conferences. So in 2020 he joined the editorial board of the leading scientific journal 'Obesity Surgery'.

Dr. Kevin Göttgens trained as a gastrointestinal surgeon at Maastricht University Medical Center and Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven. At the Catharina Hospital he was fully trained as a gastrointestinal surgeon and also specifically in weightloss surgery. After his training he worked for two years at the ETZ in Tilburg and then another three years at the Maxima Medical Center in Veldhoven/Eindhoven. Here he further expanded his experience with weightloss surgery. Since January 2023, he has been happy to strengthen the team at WeightWorks.

Dr. Gabor Abis was interested in keyhole surgery for problems in the abdomen even before his training as a surgeon and continued to specialize in this during his training, and thereafter. He did his training at the VU Medical Center in Amsterdam and the Spaarne Gasthuis in Haarlem/Hoofddorp. In addition to his work at Weightworks, Dr. Abis serves as a gastrointestinal and oncology surgeon at Meander Medical Center in Amersfoort.

Dr. Thomas Vermeer trained as a gastrointestinal surgeon at Maastricht University Medical Center and Zuyderland Hospital in Sittard/Heerlen. The foundation of his career was laid at the Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven where he gained much scientific experience and where he also completed his doctoral studies. At Zuyderland, he completed his training as a gastrointestinal surgeon with specific focus on gastric reduction surgery.