Ariel Ortiz Lagardere, MD, FACS, FASMBS

• 1985–1990MD, Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC) — graduated with highest honors.
• 1990–1994Residency in General Surgery.
• 1994–1999Fellowships in advanced laparoscopic surgery and bariatric & metabolic surgery.

• Founder & Chief Medical Officer — Hospital CYNTAR®, Tijuana
• Founder & Medical Director — Obesity Control Center® (OCC), Tijuana
• Founder — Instituto Internacional de Medicina Metabólica (IIMM)
• Professor of Surgical Pathology & Surgical Education — Faculty of Medicine, UABC (since 2014)
• Head Professor — UABC / OCC Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery Fellowship, “Cirugía Bariátrica y Metabólica Básica/Avanzada” (since 2023)
• Co-Founder, International Bariatric Club (IBC); President, IBC-TV — first global bariatric surgery channel on YouTube
• Congress Co-Director — IBC / University of Oxford World Congress (3rd 2022, 4th 2023, 5th 2024, 6th 2025; 7th scheduled Sept 15–17, 2026)
• Founder & Director — Academy of Surgical Innovation (AcademySI) and QuoVadis Studios
• Founder & Director — Hospital CYNTAR Robotic Surgery Training Center (first alternative robotic training program in Mexico)
• President — Consejo Mexicano del Turismo de Salud / Mexican Board of Health Tourism
• Director of Quality & Accreditation — Baja Health Cluster
• Former National President & Honorary Member — Mexican Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery Association
• Past President (2002–2003) — Colegio Mexicano de Cirugía para la Obesidad y Enfermedades Metabólicas (CMCOEM)

• Board-certified, General Surgery — Consejo Mexicano de Cirugía General
• Board-certified, Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery — CMCOEM
• Fellow, American College of Surgeons (FACS)
• Fellow, American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (FASMBS)
• SRC Master Surgeon of Excellence in Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery

• Joint Commission International (JCI) — Gold Seal of Approval® (one of only eight hospitals in Mexico fully JCI-accredited)
• SRC Center of Excellence in Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery
• SRC Center of Excellence in Specialized Anesthesia
• SRC Master Surgeon — Metabolic, Bariatric & Revisional Bariatric Surgery
• Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA, since 2019)
• ISO 9001:2015 · ISO 27001:2013
• Consejo de Salubridad General (CSG, 2014)

• 1992A.H. Robbins Prize for Academic Excellence — presented by President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.
• 2016Paseo de la Fama, Tijuana Innovadora — distinguished personalities in science and medicine.
• 2022Ciudadano del Año (Citizen of the Year) — Grupo Salinas Consejos Consultivos.

1. Khwaja HA, Nedelcu M, Galvao Neto M, Ortiz Lagardere A, et al. The International Bariatric Club — a worldwide web educational network for bariatric professionals. Obesity Surgery, 2013. PMID 24122697
2. Kowalewski PK, Rogula TG, Ortiz Lagardere A, et al. Current Practice of Global Bariatric Tourism — Survey-Based Study. Obesity Surgery, 2019. PMID 31240532
3. Guilbert L, Joo P, Ortiz C, et al. Safety and efficacy of bariatric surgery in Mexico: detailed analysis of 500 surgeries at a high-volume center. Rev Gastroenterol Mex, 2019. PMID 29933896
4. Rodríguez G, Martínez A, et al. A New Bariatric Procedure: The Stomach Sparing Gastric Sleeve™. Surgical Technology International, 2015. PMID 26680388
5. Ortiz Lagardere A. Lap-Band for Life: The Complete Patient Guide to Success with the LAP-BAND. LM Publishers, 2005. ISBN 187913666X.

• General Surgery — Board Certified

  2024–2029 · File No. C98254

• Bariatric Surgery — Board Certified

  2024–2029 · File No. COEM1313

• General Medicine — Mexican Federal License

  No. 2526822

• General Medicine — Baja California State

  No. 025555-02/19

• General Surgery — Federal License

  No. 3181627

• General Surgery — Baja California State

  No. 025779-02/19

• Bariatric technology consultant and early clinical investigator for the Obalon swallowable intragastric balloon platform — the first FDA-approved swallowable intragastric balloon system for weight loss.
• Co-developer of The Stomach Sparing Gastric Sleeve™, published in Surgical Technology International as a new bariatric procedure.
• Pioneer of 360-degree, virtual reality, and live-streamed surgical education for bariatric and minimally invasive surgery.
• Live surgical educator for the Yale Laparoscopy Training Program, ASMBS-related audiences, osteopathic surgical meetings, IFSO meetings, and international bariatric congresses.
• Live-surgery repertoire: laparoscopic hernia repair, gastric banding, gastric sleeve, gastric revision, gastric plication, failed gastric bypass rescue, failed sleeve rescue, and Obalon balloon placement.

• Founder & Director — Hospital CYNTAR Robotic Surgery Training Center; first alternative robotic surgery training program of its kind in Mexico.
• Latin American consultant to Edge Medical for the clinical development, education, and implementation of the Omnibot robotic surgery platform.
• Strategic partner with RCGA for the distribution and adoption of the Toumai surgical robotics platform across Latin America.
• Co-developer of structured robotic surgery education pathways — online learning, simulation, hands-on training, proctorship, and clinical integration — certified in partnership with TROGSS (The Robotic Global Surgical Society).
• British Journal of Surgery Research Prize (2024) — “AI-Assisted Surgical Fellowship Training Assessment Through Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy Video Analytics” (Oral Abstract 49, BJS Vol. 112 Suppl. 5, znaf036.049) — 466 sleeve gastrectomy videos analyzed via the Surgeryview.ai platform. 5th IBC / University of Oxford World Congress.

• President — Consejo Mexicano del Turismo de Salud / Mexican Board of Health Tourism.
• Director of Quality and Accreditation — Baja Health Cluster.
• Committee of Founders — Tijuana Committee of Tourism.
• Co-author, 19,801-patient bariatric-tourism outcomes study (ASMBS 2022, Dallas) — 1.2% 30-day morbidity, zero mortalities.
• Cross-border academic collaboration with the UC San Diego Department of Surgery in surgical education, research, and training.

• Fellow, American College of Surgeons (FACS)
• Fellow, American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (FASMBS)
• International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO)
• International Bariatric Club — Co-Founder & Global Communications Chair
• Colegio Mexicano de Cirugía para la Obesidad y Enfermedades Metabólicas — Consejo Consultivo; Scientific Committee Chair (2009–2013); Board of Directors (since 2001)
• Consejo Mexicano de Cirugía General
• Asociación Mexicana de Cirugía General
• Asociación Mexicana de Cirugía Laparoscópica
• Latin American Society of Endoscopic Surgery
• Colegio Médico de Tijuana · Colegio de Cirujanos de Baja California
• Board of Trustees — Rady Children's Hospital, Circle of Care Committee
• Editorial / reviewer roles: Obesity Surgery, Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, Obesity News

Every biographical claim on this CV is independently sourced. References below match the Wikipedia Articles for Creation submission and are verified live URLs.

1. [1]Obesity Control Center® — Dr. Ariel Ortiz® biography. www.obesitycontrolcenter.com/our-team/dr-ariel-ortiz/
2. [2]Khwaja HA et al. The International Bariatric Club. Obesity Surgery, 2013. PMID 24122697. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24122697/
3. [3]IBC–Oxford 2025 Programme, British Journal of Surgery, Oxford University Press. academic.oup.com/bjs/article/113/Supplement_1/znaf288.fm001/8439428
4. [4]Diario Tijuana — Reconoce Grupos Salinas a empresarios bajacalifornianos (Feb 7, 2023). diariotijuana.info/2023/02/reconoce-grupos-salinas-a-empresarios-generadores-de-impacto-social-bajacalifornianos
5. [5]Government of Baja California — Official press release, Ciudadano del Año 2022. www.bajacalifornia.gob.mx/Prensa/Noticia/9856
6. [6]PR Newswire — OCC Achieves Global Healthcare Accreditation (Oct 30, 2019). www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/obesity-control-center-achieves-global-healthcare-accreditation-300948526.html
7. [7]Ortiz Lagardere A. et al. Bariatric Tourism is Safe and Effective (19,801 patients). ASMBS Annual Meeting 2022, Dallas.
8. [8]San Diego Union-Tribune — UCSD collaborates with weight-loss surgical center in Tijuana (Jun 3, 2022). www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2022/06/03/ucsd-collaborates-with-weight-loss-surgical-center-in-tijuana/
9. [9]CBS8 San Diego — UC San Diego training surgeons in Tijuana. www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/uc-san-diego-training-surgeons-tijuana-new-cross-border-collaboration/509-0caf9161-9b23-449b-bb6c-1b54a3b5ab47
10. [10]Fox News — Border Surgeon Becomes Public Face of New Weight-Loss Device. www.foxnews.com/health/border-surgeon-becomes-public-face-of-new-weight-loss-device-not-yet-available-in-u-s
11. [11]ABC News — Is the Balloon Pill a Weight-Loss Miracle? (May 15, 2014). abcnews.go.com/Health/balloon-pill-weight-loss-miracle-cure-short-term/story?id=23732639
12. [12]ABC7 New York (WABC) — New weight loss technique: swallowing a pill (Apr 8, 2014). abc7ny.com/post/new-weight-loss-technique-swallowing-a-pill/25375/
13. [13]Harper's Bazaar — Latest Weight Loss Treatments (Aug 2014). www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/diet-fitness/a2893/latest-weight-loss-treatments-0814/
14. [14]CMCOEM — Consejo Consultivo Ex-Presidentes (2002–2003 term). cmcoem.info/consejo_consultivo_expresidentes
15. [15]International Bariatric Club — IBC–Oxford Webinar Archive. ibcclub.org
16. [16]IBC–Oxford 2024 Programme, BJS, OUP. academic.oup.com/bjs/article/112/Supplement_5/znaf036.fm001/8042676
17. [17]IBC–Oxford 2023 Programme, BJS, OUP. academic.oup.com/bjs/article/110/Supplement_9/znad382.fm/7454175
18. [18]El Imparcial — Paseo de la Fama, Tijuana Innovadora (2016).
19. [19]Ortiz Lagardere A. Lap-Band for Life. LM Publishers, 2005. ISBN 187913666X.