A doctor from Wayne County is opening a Wilmington location of his hormone therapy and weight loss practice in an office on Racine Drive.

Chris Pate, who is board-certified in obesity medicine and a certified menopause specialist, and his wife, Shannon Pate, office administrator, will split their working hours between their new Wilmington office and the Goldsboro office of BioSymmetry, which they opened four years ago.

“We have a lot of patients from Wilmington, was one of the main reasons,” Shannon Pate said, for opening a location of BioSymmetry in the Port City. A second reason: “I really love Wilmington,” she said, adding that the Pates’ four sons, ages 10 to 15, play soccer here often, and, as the couple gets closer to retirement age, a community close to the ocean was where they wanted to be.

The Wilmington BioSymmetry office occupies 2,700 square feet of space at 265 Racine Drive, Suite 102, in the University Court at Racine office complex. Amy Spicuzza, a real estate agent with Commonwealth Commercial Properties, assisted the Pates in the transaction.

Shannon Pate estimates that BioSymmetry has between 1,500 and 2,000 patients and is accepting appointments. The practice helps patients with a variety of hormone-related issues, including thyroid problems, menopause, perimenopause, andropause in men, erectile dysfunction, low libido, diabetes and low testosterone, among other health and quality of life concerns, the Pates said.

Hormones and obesity are often connected, they said.

Typically, when a new patient comes in, he or she meets with a nurse and is given blood tests before scheduling a consultation with Chris Pate, who is also a board-certified family practitioner.

BioSymmetry does not file insurance, Shannon Pate said. Patients can do that on their own, and some companies pay and some do not, she said.

Lab work can cost about $225, the consultation with the doctor about $175, and hormone replacement therapies can range from $400 to $2,000 a year, depending on the therapy a patient needs, Shannon Pate said.