Francesca Dimou, MD

Dr. Francesca Dimou is an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of South Florida (USF) Health Morsani College of Medicine and Program Director of the Comprehensive Weight Management Center at Tampa General Hospital, an MBSAQIP-accredited Bariatric Center of Excellence. She also serves as Associate Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Program at USF.

Her clinical practice centers on advanced, minimally invasive and robotic bariatric surgery, with a focus on personalized, evidence-based treatment plans for patients living with obesity. She completed her fellowship at Weill Cornell Medicine and went on to build and lead the robotic bariatric surgery program at Washington University in St. Louis, where she performed the institution's first robotic gastric bypass. In 2023, she returned to Tampa General Hospital — where her surgical training began — to lead the Comprehensive Weight Management Center.

Within her adolescent bariatric surgery program, Dr. Dimou brings particular insight and care to treating patients with neurodivergence — an interest that is personal as well as professional. Her sister's experience with autism has shaped how she approaches care for neurodivergent patients, giving her a deeper understanding of the needs of these patients and their families.

Dr. Dimou is active in the academic and professional bariatric surgery community as Section Editor for Bariatrics at Current Surgery Reports and as a member of the ASMBS Insurance Committee, where she works on coverage policy and advocates for improved insurance access for patients with obesity.

Above all, Dr. Dimou believes meaningful, lasting weight management requires more than surgery alone — it requires a partnership between patient and provider built on trust, education, and long-term support.