Meet our Doctors
Kansas City Area LAP-BAND® System Surgeons
DR. STEPHEN MALLEY
General Surgeon
Dr. Stephen Malley is a highly respected, board-certified General Surgeon in the Kansas City area. His commitment to healthy, long-term weight loss has lead to a practice based entirely around the LAP-BAND® System, with emphasis on pre-operative education and post-operative patient follow-up in a caring and supportive environment.
Dr. Malley’s interest in Bariatrics presented itself early on in his medical career after a personal battle with his own weight. In February 2004, Dr. Malley was certified to perform the LAP-BAND® System procedure by Allergan Medical, the LAP-BAND® System manufacturer, and has since performed more than 1,500 LAP-BAND® System cases in the Kansas City area.
In 2006, as one of the most experienced LAP-BAND® System surgeons in the Midwest, Dr. Malley had the distinguished honor of being asked to serve as an Allergan Medical faculty member involved in training other surgeons on the LAP-BAND® System to adhere to the U.S. FDA’s standards of clinical excellence. Also in 2006, Dr. Malley partnered with NewHope Bariatrics, Inc. to develop and operate a new state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center in Overland Park, Kan., designed specifically to treat the unique needs of patients suffering from severe obesity.
A Kansas City native, Dr. Malley received his medical degree from the University of Kansas Medical School in 1991. While serving in the United States Navy, he served as a General Medical Officer from 1992 to 1994, and as Squadron Medical Officer from 1994 to 1995. He completed both his internship and residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and is a board-certified General Surgeon through the American Board of Surgery.
DR. C. THOMAS HITCHCOCK
M.C., FACS
Dr. C. Thomas Hitchcock is a highly respected Bariatric surgeon who has been serving the needs of the severely obese community in the Kansas City metropolitan area for more than 25 years.
He has performed several hundred LAP-BAND System procedures since he completed the FDA-required training in 2004. In September of 2008, Dr. Hitchcock joined Malley Surgical Weight Loss Center, in association with NewHope Bariatrics to better serve the growing demand for outpatient LAP-BAND surgery.
Dr. Hitchcock is a member of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and is recognized as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence Surgeon by this organization. He is also a Board-certified general surgeon and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. Hitchcock completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan. He graduated from medical school and completed his surgical residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and then completed a surgical externship at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Hitchcock received specialized training in laparoscopic weight-loss surgery in 2002 from Drs. Wittgrove and Clark, founders of the laparoscopic technique for Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.
DR. NICOLE FEARING
MD, FACS
Dr Nicole Fearing is a highly respected Bariatric and General Surgeon who has been in practice since 2003. Dr Fearing specializes in advanced laparoscopic surgery and endoscopy and has a special interest in bariatric surgery. She completed training and was certified to perform the Lap Band in 2005 and the Realize Band in 2009. Since 2005 she has performed numerous bariatric procedures in the area.
Dr Fearing recently joined Malley Surgical Weight Loss Center and will work with Drs Malley and Hitchcock to promote the LAP-BAND surgery as well as the gastric sleeve. She is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
Dr Fearing grew up in North Dakota and attending the University of North Dakota for medical school graduating in 1998. She completed her surgical residency training at the University of Kansas-Wichita in 2003. Dr Fearing went on to complete a fellowship in advanced laparoscopic/minimally invasive surgery at the University of Texas-Houston in 2004 under the direction of Dr Philip Leggett. Dr Fearing has specialized training in numerous bariatric procedures including the LAP-BAND and Roux-en Y gastric bypass surgery.
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