Meet the Doctors

Leading Weight Loss Surgeons Serving Central New Jersey

DR. VAL PROKURAT, M.D., D.O.

Through many years of experience, and thousands of operations, Dr. Prokurat has developed a comprehensive plan of care with individualized approach for every patient. Dr. Prokurat is a compassionate surgeon with life experiences that give him a unique insight into the challenges that a bariatric patient faces. He looks forward to helping his patients receive the benefits of bariatric surgery and ultimately achieve a higher quality of life.

Dr. P specializes in laparoscopic procedures for obesity, including gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, adjustable gastric banding and revision of prior bariatric surgery that helps obese individuals improve their health through weight loss surgery.

DR. MICHAEL KAMMERER, M.D., GENERAL & BARIATRIC SURGEON

Michael Kammerer started his education in Madison, NJ at Fairleigh Dickinson University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Biology, with a double minor in Chemistry and Computer Science.

After undergraduate studies, he pursued his medical education at St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies. There he received his M.D. in 2006. He started his residency training at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, NJ, and continued his surgical residency at Orlando Regional Medical Center in Orlando, FL.

After surgical training, he decided to pursue specialty training in Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery. He was accepted as the Inaugural Fellow in the Bariatric Surgical Fellowship Program at Thomas Jefferson University. He completed his fellowship and was asked to remain at Thomas Jefferson University as a full-time Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery faculty member. He spent 5 years as a full-time faculty member at Thomas Jefferson University where he was promoted from Instructor of Surgery to Assistant Professor of Surgery. During his time there he was actively involved in several Bariatric research projects and the teaching of medical students, surgical residents, and surgical fellows.

Before joining the Jersey Surgical Weight Control Center in October of 2020, he was the Medical Director of the Bariatric Surgery Program at Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May Court House, NJ. He remains a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), and a member of the Society of Advanced Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) and the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons (ASMBS).

MORE ON DR. PROKURAT:

CARING, COMPASSIONATE, COMMITTED

As a general surgeon, Dr. Prokurat is performing the abdominal surgical procedures. He is focusing to helping individuals with acute and chronic issues with their stomach, intestines, colon, gallbladder, or other abdominal organs. He specializes in all type of primary and recurrent abdominal wall and hiatal hernias. He has extensive experience at surgically treating colon cancer using laparoscopic techniques.

Dr. Prokurat’s passion for innovation & focus on reducing the impact of surgical procedures on patients, he conducted da Vinci training using the robotic-assisted da Vinci Surgical System & become the most experienced robotic surgeon at CentraState Medical Center & RWJ University Hospital in Hamilton, NJ, highly recommended for robotic sleeves within the NJ & PA area.

Dr. Prokurat is an experienced proctoring surgeon of the da Vinci® Technology Training Program, who provides direct support and training to new da Vinci surgeons. His experience & surgeon-to surgeon instructions help to develop the knowledge and skills needed to use da Vinci System technology ensuring proper techniques.

In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Prokurat is co-director of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton, NJ Bariatric program. Due to his high scores on tests Dr. Prokurat was invited & serves as examiner for The American College of Osteopathic Surgeons oral board exams each year. He is a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES)

BOARD CERTIFICATIONS

American Board of Surgery (ABS)

American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS)

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS)

Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES)

MEDICAL LICENSURE AND SPECIALTY BOARD

New Jersey State Medical Board

Diplomate, National Board Medical Examiners — Parts I, II, III

HOSPITAL AFFILIATIONS

CentraState Medical Center, Freehold, NJ

Jersey Shore University Medical Center
1945 NJ-33, Neptune City, NJ 07753

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Hamilton, NJ

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

General/Bariatric Surgeon
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
& CentraState Medical Center, NJ
2009-Present

General/Bariatric Surgeon
Hackensack University Medical Center, NJ
2008-2009

Trauma/General Surgeon
Lutheran Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
2003-2008

Trauma/General Surgeon
Grodno State Hospital, Belarus
1996-1997

General Surgeon
Pinsk Hospital, Belarus
1993-1996

Pediatric Surgeon
Pinsk Children Hospital, Belarus
1993-1996

BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION

Dr. Prokurat was trained in both Europe and in the United States. He came to the U.S. in 1997. The United States has strict policies regarding medical licensing. Even though Dr. P had received his medical degree from Grodno State University, had extensive research experience, had completed his residency & even worked as a surgeon in his home country of Belarus, becoming a U.S. licensed physician required to do it all over again. Following his passion to serve as a surgeon, Dr. Prokurat did just that! Dr. P strongly believes that “dreams come to those who dare to work for their dreams”.

Dr. Prokurat had to start a new beginning here, in the U.S. & he completed his medical education at New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY.

Dr. Prokurat’s surgical residency was performed at NYU Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, certified Level 1Trauma Center, and his subsequent fellowship in advanced laparoscopic/bariatric surgery was completed at Hackensack University Medical Center, a highly regarded center for minimally invasive surgery.

As a result, the skills & experience gained were not only essential to licensing, but more importantly, enhancing his knowledge & mastering his professional skills. Dr. Prokurat comes from a prominent doctor’s family. His father inspired his passion for medicine. His father was a well-known radiologist in Belarus, who served until the age of 73, never retiring. His mother worked as a nurse & his older brother is an anesthesiologist.

Dr. Prokurat enjoys traveling with his family, attending his children’s sporting events, watching soccer & playing tennis.