Bariatric Surgeons, Los Angeles

 

Erik Dutson, MD, FACS
Surgical Director, Center for Obesity and METabolic Health (COMET)
Executive Director, Center for Advanced Surgical & Interventional Technology (CASIT)
Clinical Professor of Surgery

Dr. Erik Dutson is the Surgical Director of the Center for Obesity and Metabolic Health (COMET Program) at UCLA, and has been a part of the multidisciplinary approach to the clinical management of obesity at UCLA for twelve years.  He has been actively involved in the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, the American College of Surgeons and the Society for American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons, where he serves on several committees and presents research on an a regular basis.  He has been the Director of the Minimally Invasive/Bariatric Fellowship training program at UCLA since 2006, and provided the structure necessary to properly train minimally-invasive (MIS) bariatric surgeons in a multidisciplinary fashion according to the requirements of the MIS Fellowship Council.  He has multiple scientific publications on clinical management of obesity, and his role as a patient and clinician educator has required him to maintain active working knowledge of global research on obesity mechanisms and treatment.  More >

 

Yijun Chen, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery

Dr. Yijun Chen grew up in Hunan, China and attended Fourth Military Medical School in Xi'an, China. He came to the United States to do cancer research, and did his postdoctoral training in cancer biology at Stanford University. Dr. Chen completed his surgical residency training at Stanford University, where he found his passion to become a bariatric and minimally invasive surgeon. After finishing his bariatric fellowship at Duke University, he joined the UCLA Department of Surgery. He enjoys connecting with patients and developing long-lasting partnerships with patients. Dr. Chen used his own weight loss experience to help him develop great empathy for his patients struggling with weight issues. Seeing many happy patients during his bariatric surgery rotation at Stanford, Dr. Chen decided to become a bariatric surgeon because he truly believes that this type of surgery can make a huge difference for obese patients.  More >

 

Simon Beaven, MD, PhD
Research and Medical Director, Center for Obesity and METabolic Health (COMET) Assistant Professor of Medicine

Dr. Beaven is the director of the Metabolic Syndrome Program within the Division of Digestive Diseases and has created a cross-disciplinary program (COMET) along with Dr. Erik Dutson for studying how metabolic pathways influence liver and gastrointestinal diseases. Dr. Beaven was a Named New Investigator in the UCLA Center for Ulcer Research and Education (CURE) and has received awards from the UCLA Department of Medicine Research Day Competition. He is an active peer reviewer for several scientific journals, including Diabetes, Molecular & Cellular Biology, Hepatology, Gastroenterology, and the Journal of Lipid Research. Dr. Beaven teaches in the medical school at all levels and lectures to medical residents and fellows on issues related to liver and gastrointestinal disease. Dr. Beaven is funded both by NIH grants and philanthropic gifts. He primarily sees patients with liver diseases, as well as patients enrolled in the research protocols related to COMET.  More >

 

Danny Issa, MD
Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine

Dr. Issa is a gastroenterologist and an interventional and bariatric endoscopist whose clinical practice focuses on using minimally-invasive approaches to diagnose and treat digestive diseases such as obesity, pancreas and bile ducts disorders, esophagus and stomach conditions, hiatal hernia, gastroparesis, fatty liver disease, hemorrhoids, colon polyps and early cancer lesions. He has a particular interest in bariatric endoscopy and obesity medicine and is co-leading the endoscopic bariatric program at UCLA. He has obtained additional training at Weill Cornell, New York, for cutting-edge endoscopic weight loss procedures such as endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG), gastric revision following bypass surgery, suturing the stomach to treat weight regain following surgical sleeve gastrectomy (re-sleeve), transoral outlet reduction (TORe), and gastric balloon placement. Gastrointestinal procedures he performs also include colonoscopy with removal of all sizes of polyps, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), therapeutic endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), tumor ablation, endoluminal stenting, trans-nasal esophagoscopy, mucosal resection (EMR), endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM). Dr. Issa is American board certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine.More >

 

Alireza Sedarat, MD
Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine

Dr. Sedarat joined UCLA in 2013 as a member of the interventional endoscopy within the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases. His clinical interests encompass the development and application of advanced endoscopic techniques and interventions to diagnose, stage, treat and palliate a range of benign and malignant gastrointestinal disorders. He is proficient in the application of advanced endoscopic techniques including therapeutic ERCP, EUS with fine needle aspiration and biopsy, ERCP in surgically altered anatomy, interventional EUS (such as biliary drainage or rendezvous procedures, pancreas pseudocyst drainage, pancreas necrosectomy, fiducial placement and abscess drainage), pancreatic and biliary endotherapy, endoluminal stenting, endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), complex polypectomy, tumor ablation, deep (device assisted) enteroscopy, endoscopic fistula and leak closure, complex stricture dilation and endotherapy, endoscopic treatment of Barrett’s esophagus with mucosal resection and radiofrequency ablation, endoscopic antireflux procedures, Zenkers’ diverticulum myotomy, endoscopic management of surgical complications, and chromoendoscopy. Dr. Sedarat also performs bariatric endoscopy, including primary endoscopic therapies for obesity, endoscopic treatment of weight regain following bariatric surgery, and treatment of post-surgical complications. He is board certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine.More >

 

Adarsh M. Thaker, MD
Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Dr. Thaker is an advanced endoscopist with particular interest in bariatric and metabolic endoscopy as well as other minimally invasive endoscopic procedures which help fill the gap between medical management and traditional surgery. He is co-leading the bariatric endoscopy program at UCLA, which is now among the busiest endoscopic weight loss centers on the west coast. He frequently coordinates with a multidisciplinary team in the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition and the Center for Obesity and METabolic Health (COMET). Dr. Thaker performs endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) for weight loss as well as gastric revision procedures, such as transoral outlet reduction (TORe) and sleeve revision, for patients who have regained weight after prior gastric surgery. He also performs the transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF) procedure, which is a minimally invasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of acid reflux. Dr. Thaker is board certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine.More >

Lauren Lemieux, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine

Lauren Lemieux, MD is an internist and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine in Westwood. She practices medicine in the division of Clinical Nutrition, the Center of Obesity and Metabolic Health (COMET), and the UCLA Medical Weight Management Program (formerly RFO). Dr. Lemieux is board certified in Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine and as a Physician Nutrition Specialist.  More »

Michael Garcia, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine

Michael Garcia, MD is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Clinical Nutrition and Center for Human Nutrition at UCLA.  He received his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed residency training in internal medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where he also served as Chief Medical Resident and hospitalist. He then completed a fellowship in Clinical Nutrition at UCLA. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and as a Physician Nutrition Specialist.  More »

Kaitlyn Cedeno
Bariatric Program Manager

Kaitlyn is the Program Manager for the Section of MIS and Bariatric Surgery. She joined the UCLA Bariatric team in 2016 after relocating from New York. After obtaining her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in New York City, she decided to pursue a career in route to Healthcare Administration. In 2014, she began working for a Bariatric Surgery Program in New York, where she gained insight and knowledge about obesity, insurance, and healthcare as a whole. Upon moving to Los Angeles in 2016, she began working as the Financial Counselor for the UCLA Bariatric Section and in 2018 became the Program Manager. In her role, she manages the staff, program analysis and outcomes, marketing and outreach, website development, accreditation maintenance, Family Medical Leave of Absence for patients and family members, and complex Insurance inquires.

Anna Balioukova, MSN, NP
Nurse Practitioner II

Anna Balioukova has been with UCLA for 12 years. After providing care to bariatric patients in the immediate post-operative period as a floor nurse, she witnessed firsthand the rapid resolution of comorbidities, which piqued her interest in metabolic surgery. After obtaining her Masters of Science degree in Nursing from UCLA In 2013, she began working as a bariatric surgery manager. Her clinical interests include the brain-gut connection and importance of psychological factors in postoperative weight loss maintenance. Her role is to assess, plan, implement and evaluate care for patients requiring specialized bariatric care in collaboration with health care team. She provides direct patient care and education to patients and serves as a resource and educator.

Seu Park, MSN, NP
Nurse Practitioner II

Christina Cardenas
Surgical Coordinator

The Surgical Coordinator is available to assist patients through every step of the surgical process. She is a resource for information regarding the procedures, pre-operative instructions, scheduling pre-operative follow-up appointments, surgery-scheduling, and insurance authorizations.

Christine Goukasian, MS, RDN
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Christine completed her Masters of Science in Nutritional Sciences at California State University, Los Angeles. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science from California State University, Northridge. Her dietetic internship was completed at Lenoir-Rhyne University, with emphasis on childhood obesity. She has experience working in multiple areas including clinical nutrition, weight management, prenatal nutrition, diabetes and renal disease. She enjoys being part of a vital multidisciplinary team to help patients succeed in weight loss and is committed to helping patients meet their dietary needs through nutrition education. Christine believes the benefits of healthy nutrition on our mind and body is endless. She speaks Armenian fluently and is able to work with Armenian speaking patients.

Allison Barbera, MS, RDN
Registered Dietitian

Allie is a graduate of UNC Charlotte with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies with a Concentration in Health and Minor in Public Health. After spending a year abroad, she later graduated from Winthrop University in South Carolina with a Master of Science degree in Human Nutrition. She completed her dietetic internship at Lenoir-Rhyne University, with a Concentration in Childhood and Adolescent Weight Management. Prior to her position at UCLA, Allie completed the Certificate of Training in Obesity Interventions by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and worked as a weight management dietitian in North Carolina. Allie has a wide range of interests from clinical obesity interventions to food systems and global nutrition initiatives. She is passionate about helping patients through the healing power of food and the policy, systems and environmental changes necessary to facilitate optimal living. In her spare time, Allie loves exploring her new home on the West Coast. More >

Devon Kaiser, Psy.D
Clinical Psychologist

The psychologist specializes in the assessment and evaluation of identifying and treating emotional components of improper eating habits.

James Tenney
Administrative Assistant

The administrative assistant is the first point of contact for every patient. He guides each new patient through the process before their first clinic appointment and answers any questions the patient may have. He provides information about the program and schedules new patient appointments in addition to handling the day-to-day functions of the office.