Ionut Hutopila — bariatric surgery in Bucharest

Ionut Hutopila offers sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass and hiatal hernia repair at Ponderas Academic Hospital in Bucharest. The hospital’s official medical-team page lists him as a general surgery consultant with a bariatric and metabolic surgery focus. ^[1]

Bookimed’s biography on his public offer credits him with over 900 bariatric surgeries. This is an unaudited page claim with no count date, not a published personal gastric-bypass total or a complication rate. ^[2]

Sleeve surgery with hernia repair: reflux and risks

Hutopila is first author of a Ponderas study comparing sleeve gastrectomy with hiatal hernia repair in 273 patients. The earlier group had hernia closure alone: 146 patients operated on between January 2016 and January 2017. The later group added reconstruction of a ligament that helps hold the food pipe at the diaphragm: 127 patients operated on between January 2018 and January 2019. This was an observational comparison, not a randomized trial. ^[3]

At 12 months, upward migration of the stomach into the chest was found in 11 of 127 patients (8.7%) with the added reconstruction, compared with 74 of 146 (50.7%) after closure alone. Reflux symptoms were reported in 27 of 127 (21.3%) versus 54 of 146 (37.0%), respectively. Severe inflammation of the food pipe was present in 1 of 127 (0.8%) versus 5 of 146 (3.4%). These are study-group results, not Hutopila’s individual outcome rates. ^[4]

The paper reports no complications or deaths among the patients included in the final comparison. However, 2 patients who developed gastric narrowing were excluded and treated with endoscopic dilation; patients missing assessments were also excluded. The favourable findings therefore do not establish a zero-complication risk. ^[5]

For you, this makes reflux and hernia assessment a useful part of the discussion before sleeve surgery. It does not prove that the added repair is right for everyone: the groups were treated in different periods, follow-up was limited to a year, and the study did not compare sleeve surgery with gastric bypass. Ask how existing reflux would affect your procedure choice. ^[6]

Finding a hiatal hernia during sleeve surgery

An earlier first-author study at Ponderas reviewed six hundred ninety-five sleeve patients treated between January 2015 and May 2016. A hiatal hernia was identified and repaired in 339 patients (48.78%); 147 of those hernias were first identified during the operation, representing 43.37% of the hernia subgroup. This was a study of detection, not a weight-loss or complication-rate study. ^[7]

For you, a preoperative test may not settle whether hernia repair will be needed. Ask how an unexpected hernia would change the operation, consent and cost. The study does not show your personal likelihood of needing repair or the risks of adding it. ^[8]

Where to request treatment and what it costs

Hutopila’s public gastric-bypass package at Ponderas Academic Hospital displays USD 12363 Price source · Recorded 2026-10-21 (collection date; validity not supplied). This price is for bypass, not the sleeve procedure studied above. It includes surgery, hospitalization and standard preoperative assessment, including blood tests, ultrasound, cardiac assessment, endoscopy, nutrition and anesthesia consultations. Further investigations may add to the cost after the initial consultation. ^[9]

The offer’s duration section lists 2 days in hospital and 5 days in a hotel. Hotel accommodation, airfare, transfers and additional activities are excluded from the package price. The narrative also refers to hospital nights, so the number of overnight stays needs confirmation rather than conversion from days. ^[10]

Ask Ionut Hutopila to review your case through Bookimed. A request starts a review, not an appointment. Ask for confirmation of Hutopila as the operating surgeon at Ponderas, the recommended procedure, an itemized quote and the follow-up arrangements after you travel home. ^{[11] [12]}

Research behind this page

Hutopila’s official hospital profile lists both the ligament-reconstruction study and Hiatal Hernia is More Frequent than Expected in Bariatric Patients. The first paper was read in full, including its exclusions; the earlier findings come from the abstract. Both concern Ponderas study groups, and first authorship does not establish that Hutopila personally operated on every participant. ^{[13] [14] [15]}