OptiWeight is a Melbourne specialist-led weight-loss practice founded by Dr Ashok Gunawardene, FRACS. Fifteen years across the UK, New Zealand and Australia. A judgement-free, multidisciplinary approach designed for results that last — and patients who don’t get rushed.
Dr Ashok Gunawardene · Director
OptiWeight is a Melbourne specialist-led weight-loss practice founded by Dr Ashok Gunawardene, FRACS. Fifteen years across the UK, New Zealand and Australia. A judgement-free, multidisciplinary approach designed for results that last — and patients who don’t get rushed.
“We treat obesity as a medical condition — never a moral failing.”
The science is clear. Weight is shaped by hormones, genetics, metabolism and decades of life. Willpower-and-good-intent rarely works for long — and was never meant to.
OptiWeight exists to offer something honest: a specialist-led plan that meets you where you are. Medical pathways. Surgical pathways. Bridges between them. And a clinical team that treats you as a person — not a number on a scale.
Founder & Director
Dr Ashok’s path began in the dissection rooms of the University of Leeds and the wards of Birmingham, where he was awarded his medical degree with Honours. He earned Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, then crossed the world to complete a PhD at the University of Otago — researching the relationship between systemic inflammation and surgical outcomes.
Today, he is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS), a GESA-accredited endoscopist for both upper and lower endoscopy, and an Examiner for RACS — helping to train and credential the next generation of Australian and New Zealand surgeons.
Three countries. Fifteen years. One conviction — that bariatric surgery, done thoughtfully, can change the entire arc of a person’s life.
Training
Clinical experience across the UK, NZ and Australia
Typical wait from enquiry to first consultation
Scheduled follow-ups in the first year, then 6–12 monthly for life
Locations across Melbourne’s North and West, plus telehealth Australia-wide
OptiWeight is built on three principles. Safety first — every patient is assessed against current evidence, with all relevant pre-operative investigations (gastroscopy, sleep studies, echo, manometry where required). Real choice — surgery is one tool of many, and patients are offered medical, non-surgical, and surgical pathways so the plan fits the person. Long view — follow-up doesn’t end at discharge. We see patients at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, 12 months, and every 6–12 months thereafter, for life.
Method
Bariatric care is a team sport. With our in-house bariatric dietitians, clinical psychology partners and a panel of specialist anaesthetists, every OptiWeight patient is supported by a multidisciplinary team — before, during and long after surgery.
Specialist Bariatric Surgeon
FRACS, MBChB(Hons), PhD. Fifteen years across the UK, NZ and Australia, with subspecialist upper-GI training.
FRACS
Bariatric Dietitian
Accredited Practising Dietitian with over 18 years’ experience. Member, Dietitians Australia. Individualised nutrition planning for pre- and post-operative bariatric patients.
APD
Bariatric Dietitian
Bachelor of Human Nutrition and Master of Dietetic Practice (La Trobe). Compassionate, non-judgemental support for sustainable, long-term behaviour change.
APD
Specialist Anaesthetist
Bariatric and upper-GI anaesthesia specialist with two decades of theatre experience across Melbourne’s major private hospitals.
FANZCA
Specialist Anaesthetist
Subspecialty interest in safe airway management and recovery for higher-BMI bariatric patients. Calm, methodical and meticulously prepared.
FANZCA
Specialist Anaesthetist
Focused on opioid-sparing, enhanced-recovery techniques for laparoscopic bariatric surgery — getting patients home sooner, comfortable and clear-headed.
FANZCA
Every procedure is laparoscopic. Dr Ashok uses the latest powered surgical staplers with intelligent tissue-sensing firing — devices that sense the thickness of stomach or bowel tissue and fire accordingly, delivering an evenly compressed staple line every time.
Where suitable, we use tristaple technology for added staple-line security. The result: shorter operating times, smaller incisions, lower complication rates, faster recovery, and patients home sooner.
