Doctor Joins St. Luke’s Physician Group as Bariatric Surgeon

St. Luke’s Weight Management Center in Allentown has expanded, adding Dr. T. Javier Birriel, MD, to its health care team.

T. Javier Birriel, MD

Birriel specializes in laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, laparoscopic gastric bypass, revisional bariatric surgery, and foregut surgery, which addresses problems in the esophagus, stomach, and proximal small intestine.

A graduate of Ponce School of Medicine in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Birriel completed his general surgery training at St. Luke’s University Hospital in Bethlehem. After his residency, he completed an Advanced Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, a world renowned bariatric surgery center. “Throughout my training, I was fortunate to have such great mentors,” Birriel said.

Birriel chose to specialize in bariatric surgery after seeing what it can do for people, including his sister. “Most people think it’s just weight-loss surgery, but it also can lessen the effects, and in some cases cure, metabolic diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol,” Birriel said. “It gives patients who are dealing with these debilitating diseases a second chance at life. It is a very gratifying profession to be a part of.” 

Birriel is happy to join colleagues, Leonardo Claros, MD, Maher El Chaar, MD, and Sagar Mehta, MD, whom he met while completing his training.

Birriel is a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and actively participates in bariatric and minimally invasive surgery research. He has presented on these topics at national meetings. In addition to advanced laparoscopic and bariatric surgery, he offers diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy.

His wife, Lillybeth Birriel, MD, is a family medicine physician in the St. Luke’s University Health Network. They make their home with their infant son in the Bethlehem area.

St. Luke’s Weight Management Center is located at 240 Cetronia Road, Suite 205 North. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 484-426-2600. New patients are welcome.