Press Kit

Micro Bio · 50 words

Dr. Ariel Ortiz® Lagardere, MD, FACS, FASMBS, is a Mexican bariatric and metabolic surgeon, founder and director of the Obesity Control Center® in Tijuana, professor of surgery at UABC, and international keynote speaker on metabolic surgery, robotics access, and artificial intelligence in surgical education.

Short Bio · 75 words

Dr. Ariel Ortiz® Lagardere is an internationally recognized bariatric and metabolic surgeon, educator, and innovator. He is the founder and director of the Obesity Control Center® (OCC) in Tijuana, Mexico — a Joint Commission International–accredited Center of Excellence — and a professor of surgery at the UABC School of Medicine. He has performed more than 28,000 bariatric procedures, holds Master Surgeon status with the Surgical Review Corporation, and has appeared on Discovery Health, NBC Dateline, The Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC's Good Morning America, and The Doctors. He is the developer of the Stomach Sparing Gastric Sleeve® and was the primary clinical investigator for the Obalon Swallowable Balloon.

Medium Bio · 150 words

Dr. Ariel Ortiz® Lagardere, MD, FACS, FASMBS, has dedicated more than three decades to advancing bariatric and metabolic surgery as a clinician, educator, researcher, and institution-builder. Trained in general surgery in Mexico and in advanced laparoscopy under the pioneers of the field, he was among the first surgeons in Latin America to perform laparoscopic gastric banding, and one of a small group worldwide proctored personally by Professor Mitiku Belachew, the inventor of the Lap-Band system. In 2003 he founded the Obesity Control Center® in Tijuana — today an internationally accredited Center of Excellence serving patients from across North America and Europe, with multidisciplinary care, telemedicine follow-up, and outcomes published in peer-reviewed journals. He is the developer of the Stomach Sparing Gastric Sleeve®, the primary clinical investigator for the Obalon Swallowable Balloon, a co-founder of Hospital CYNTAR®, and a professor at UABC. His teaching reaches surgeons worldwide through ASMBS, SAGES, IFSO, Oxford congresses, the IBC-TV / Academy SI educational network, and his ongoing fellowship program in Tijuana.

Long Bio · 300 words

Ariel Ortiz Lagardere, MD, FACS, FASMBS, is a Mexican bariatric and metabolic surgeon whose career spans clinical practice, academic medicine, surgical education, device innovation, and international medical broadcasting. Born in Tijuana, Baja California, he graduated with highest honors from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California in 1990 and received the A.H. Robbins Prize for Academic Excellence in 1992. After general surgery residency and advanced minimally-invasive training, he became one of the first surgeons in Latin America to perform laparoscopic gastric banding and, later, one of a small international group proctored directly by Prof. Mitiku Belachew. In 2003 he founded the Obesity Control Center® in Tijuana, which today holds Joint Commission International, Global Healthcare Accreditation, SRC Center of Excellence, and ISO 9001 designations. He is co-founder of Hospital CYNTAR® and founder of the International Institute of Metabolic Medicine and the Academy of Surgical Innovation. His peer-reviewed work has appeared in Obesity Surgery, Surgical Technology International, and Revista de Gastroenterología de México, and includes a 19,801-patient OCC–UCSD outcomes study. He developed the Stomach Sparing Gastric Sleeve® and served as primary clinical investigator for the Obalon Swallowable Balloon. As co-founder of the International Bariatric Club and director of IBC-TV, and as co-director of the IBC–University of Oxford World Congress, he has helped shape a generation of surgical educators. He is a frequent keynote speaker on metabolic surgery in the GLP-1 era, artificial intelligence in surgical education, robotics access, and ethical medical tourism.

A structured record with verified citations is published on the Curriculum Vitae page. Narrative biography and career timeline live on the About page.