The morning after the operation, he crept out the same way, ducking into his car that he had left in a parking spot closest to the door.
After the April 2006 surgery, Saridis began to shed some of the 427 pounds he carried on his six-foot frame - he had already lost 40 pounds in the weeks leading up to the operation - although not nearly as much as he wanted because his eating habits remained poor.
Dropping weight was nothing new for the Scarborough resident.
He had yo-yoed his way through years of fluctuating weight loss and gain. He recalled the joy he once experienced in getting down to a 60-inch waistline because he could finally buy a pair of designer jeans, although the pleasure was short-lived because the leather Ralph Lauren label was sewn into the fabric and had to be covered up by his belt.
However, following each diet, Saridis always added more pounds than he had just finished losing.
The divorced entrepreneur became more and more of a recluse, avoiding even leaving his home to meet with clients because he feared chairs would splinter under his weight. He grew to love shopping in an oversized men's stores in New York City because it carried pants up to 90 inches and he was considered average size.
But after going as far as having surgery, this time the inability to find a permanent fix felt all the more disheartening.
Terrified he would balloon again, Saridis decided to seek out his own nutritionist, psychotherapist and other professionals to ensure he adopted a healthy lifestyle that would allow him to reach and maintain a comfortable weight.
Eventually, he decided he would offer the whole package of surgical and support services to obese clients.
This summer, Saridis launched the Canadian Institute of Bariatric Options (CIBO) in North York.
On Leslie Street south of Lawrence Avenue, CIBO calls itself Canada's first medical clinic for obesity.
The clinic has three doctors who Saridis said are specialists in bariatrics, which is the area of medicine dealing with obesity, and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding.
In addition, the support team includes an internist, nurses, psychotherapist, nutritionist, chiropractor/kinesiologist, personal trainer and patient care staff.
As someone whose highest-ever weight in September 2005 was 508 pounds, Saridis understands the worries and needs of those who were morbidly overweight. As a result, everything in the clinic is geared to obese patients,
Where Saridis feared the surgical table would crush under his weight when he had his gastric band put in, CIBO boasts extra large reinforced tables, beds and wheelchairs.
The hallways are exceptionally wide. Even the plush chairs are designed for obese patients, reinforced for strength with no constrictive arm rests but tipped slightly forward to allow patients to get out of them more easily.
Before surgery, patients go through a screening process that includes medical, nutritional, psychological and physical assessments.
Post-operative, patients receive nutritional, emotional and physical therapy to promote a healthy lifestyle and lifelong weight management.
At $18,000, the treatment doesn't come cheap.
But Saridis, which said the cost can be financed through the clinic, argued the investment is worth it.
"What is your life worth? What is a funeral worth? For me, spending that money, I wasn't going to hit 40 (years of age without the gastric band)," he said.
According to CIBO, a number of students have shown the adjustable gastric band procedure is the safest surgical option for treating obesity. The procedure is performed as laparoscopic surgery, also known as minimally invasive surgery, in which the operation is performed through small incisions as opposed to larger cuts of traditional surgery.
However, as with all procedures, there are risks.
Bleeding and infection are the most common complications of gastric band surgery.
The band slipping out of place happens in 1- to 2-per cent of patients while the band eroding into the stomach occurs in fewer than one in 1,000 patients.
Saridis is now down to 221 pounds.
His waist size is 38 inches, 32 inches smaller than the 72-inches he used to sport around his middle.
The man who used to be happy buying a lime green shirt or purple pants as long as they fit now sits behind his desk in a black suit and shirt that any average-sized man could wear.
"When you live with obesity, you live with a lot of shame. At 500 pounds, even if you don't have physical pain, you have emotional pain," he said.
"I wake up (now) in the morning, I have no pain. To shop in a regular store, it's like a kid in a candy store."
For more information about the clinic, call 416-527-2263 or visit www.ciboclinic.com