Your Weight Loss Surgery Options in Los Angeles

If you are thinking about having bariatric surgery in the Los Angeles area, the most important decisions you will make will be choosing your doctor, the type of surgery, and the facility where the surgery will be performed. 

“The most common weight-loss operations done today (gastric bypass, adjustable gastric banding and sleeve gastrectomy) are effective when they are performed by a competent surgeon, they are done in a center that offers an aftercare program that focuses on dietary, behavioral and exercise changes, and, most importantly, they are done on a patient willing to work with their operation,” writes Lloyd Stegemann, M.D. for the Obesity Action Coalition. 

But even a simple browser search brings up dozens of options for doctors, clinics and hospitals; the amount of information can be overwhelming. How do you even begin?

One way to research surgeons and facilities is to start with those that have been awarded marks of excellence from groups that certify high standards. The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and the Surgical Review Corporation annually collect data, inspect facilities and designate those who are worthy as Bariatric Centers of Excellence (COE). Centers of Excellence perform a certain minimum number of bariatric surgeries each year and have specialized surgical equipment.

Here are seven award-winning facilities and surgeons in the Los Angeles area, listed alphabetically:

1. Healthy Life Bariatrics 

• Surgeon/s: Dr. Babak Moeinolmolki
• Description:
  Healthy Life Bariatrics is a Bariatric Center of Excellence offering gastric sleeve, gastric balloon, Lap Band, gastric bypass, pouch revision, SmartLipo liposuction, hernia surgery, revision surgery and tummy tucks. 
• Other services: Patient education, nutrition information and behavior modification are part of the program. 
• Ratings: Healthgrades: 32 reviews, 4.5-star average. Yelp: eight reviews, 5-star average. 
• Location: Los Angeles

2. K and B Surgical Center

• Surgeon/s: Dr. Theodore Khalili, Dr. Eraj Basseri, Dr. Gregg Kai Nishi
• Description: K and B Surgical Center offers gastric bypass, Lap-Band and gastric sleeve surgery.
• More information: Dr. Khalili received the Golden Apple award for outstanding teaching at Cedars-Sinai hospital and a Research Prize from the Pacific Coast Surgical Association; Dr. Basseri has received the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons Resident Achievement award; Dr. Nishi also has received the Laparoendoscopic Surgeons award as well as the Leo G. Rigler, MD Award for Academic Achievement from Cedars-Sinai.
• Ratings: Healthgrades: Dr. Khalili, 22 reviews, 4.5-star average; Dr. Basseri: 8 reviews, 5-star average, Dr. Nishi, 14 reviews, 5-star average. Yelp: The center (which also performs non-bariatric surgeries) has 59 reviews, 3.5-star average.
• Location: Beverly Hills

3. Marina Weight Loss Center

• Surgeon/s: Jeremy Korman, Dr. Mona Misra, Dr. Sergey Lyass
• Description: Marina Weight Loss Center performs gastric bypass, gastric sleeve, gastric balloon, gastric plication (a surgery in which the stomach is folded and sutured to itself to make it smaller) Lap Band and revision surgeries. It offers single-incision weight loss surgery, performed with STARR instruments.
• More information: Dr. Korman is medical director of the center. Dr. Misra is an expert clinical site reviewer for the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program. Dr. Lyass is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
• Ratings: Healthgrades: Dr. Korman: 14 reviews, 4.5-star average; Dr. Misra: 11 reviews, 5-star average; Dr. Lyass: 5 reviews, 5-star average. Yelp: The center has eight reviews, 5-star average.
• Location: Marina Del Rey

4. Providence Saint Joseph Bariatric Wellness Center

• Surgeon/s: Dr. Philippe Quilici, Dr. Stephen Bresnick, Dr. Alexander Tovar
• Description: Providence Saint Joseph Bariatric Wellness Center performs gastric bypass, gastric sleeve, Lap Band and body contouring surgeries
• More information: The center and offers three patient support groups for bariatric patients and the public. Dr. Quilici is the Director of Bariatric Services, Director of the Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship program and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Tovar is a Diplomat of the National Board of Medical Examiners.
• Ratings: Healthgrades: Dr. Quilici, 70 reviews, 3.9-star average; Dr. Bresnick, 28 reviews, 5-star average; Dr. Tovar, 11 reviews, 3.6-star average. Yelp: 357 reviews for the hospital, 3-star average.
• Location: Burbank

5. Soma Weight Loss

• Surgeon/s: Dr. Joseph Naim
• Description: Soma Weight Loss performs gastric balloon, gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, Lap Band and tummy tucks.
• More information: Surgeries are done at area surgical centers and hospitals that have achieved the Center of Excellence distinction. Follow-up care includes a patient coordinator, support groups and a written exercise and nutrition manual. Dr. Naim is the former medical director of bariatric surgery at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach.
• Ratings: Healthgrades: 30 reviews, 3.5-star average; Yelp: 11 reviews, 5-star average.
• Location: Beverly Hills, Los Angeles and Wilmington.

6. UCLA Center for Obesity and Metabolic Health (COMET)

• Surgeon/s: Dr. Erik Dutson, Dr. Yijun Chen.
• Description: UCLA Center for Obesity and Metabolic Health is a bariatric Center of Excellence. The center offers both nonsurgical and surgical weight-loss services; the latter includes gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, anti-reflex, and revision procedures.
• Other services: UCLA’s program targets obesity, diabetes, fatty liver, dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease as the counterparts of metabolic syndrome.
• Ratings: Healthgrades: Dr. Dutson, nine reviews, 5-star average; Dr. Chen: 16 reviews, 5-star average. Yelp: No reviews yet.
• Location: Los Angeles

7. University Bariatrics

• Surgeon/s: Dr. Amir Mehran
• Description: University Bariatrics  offers gastric sleeve, gastric balloon, gastric bypass, gastric plication, mini-gastric bypass, duodenal switch (in which a part of the stomach is removed and the intestinal track is rerouted), and Lap Band surgeries, and performs robotic, laparoscopic and single-incision surgery.
• More information: Dr. Mehran was the director of UCLA’s bariatric surgery program when it became certified as a Center of Excellence.
• Ratings: Healthgrades: 73 reviews, 5-star average. Yelp: 12 reviews, 4-star average.
• Location: Thousand Oaks

Are you researching weight-loss surgery options?

There are a lot of options for bariatric surgery. If you are in the Los Angeles area and are interested in more information about the procedures or would like to schedule a consultation, visit Soma Bariatrics on the web, call 855-766-2411 (855-SOMA-411), or click here to fill out a contact form.