Dr. Alan Wittgrove

Bariatric Surgery

Wittgrove Bariatric Center Del Mar, California, USA

United States of America

Biography

Alan Wittgrove graduated from St. Louis College of Pharmacy before going to medical school at University of Missouri at Colombia. He did his residency in the US Navy and served for 10 years as a naval surgeon.Dr Wittgrove performed the first laparoscopic gastric bypass in the world on October 27, 1993. He has trained others extensively on his laparoscopic technique and has been course director for numerous bariatric courses worldwide as well as published on his outcomes during his 30 years in private practice.

He is the past president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). Among many accomplishments he was a Professor of Surgery at University California San Diego. He co-authored the original credentialing guidelines for ASMBS and is currently the Medical Director of Wittgrove Bariatric Center in Del Mar California.

Dr Wittgrove has received the following awards: ASMBS Circle of Excellence, ASMBS Outstanding Achievement Award, International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award, Cleveland Clinic Florida Master Surgeon and Pioneer Award.

Dr Wittgrove is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

Publications

Selected publications from PubMed

Laparoscopic gastric bypass in patients 60 years and older: early postoperative morbidity and resolution of comorbidities.

Wittgrove AC, Martinez T

Obes Surg. 2009 Nov;19(11):1472-6 doi: 10.1007/s11695-009-9929-0.

Access to care.

Wittgrove AC

Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2005 Jan-Feb;1(1):3-5.

Surgery for severely obese adolescents: further insight from the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.

Wittgrove AC, Buchwald H, Sugerman H, Pories W, American Society for Bariatric Surgery

Pediatrics. 2004 Jul;114(1):253-4.

Pregnancy following gastric bypass for morbid obesity.

Wittgrove AC, Jester L, Wittgrove P, Clark GW

Obes Surg. 1998 Aug;8(4):461-4; discussion 465-6.

Laparoscopic gastric bypass for morbid obesity in a patient with situs inversus.

Wittgrove AC, Clark GW

J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A. 1998 Feb;8(1):53-5.

Featured in

21 min

Introduction to Obesity: Epidemiology, Pathophysiology and Metabolic Changes for the Sleeve and Gastric Bypass Patient

This lecture is about basic concepts in obesity. The prevalence of obesity in the USA has increased from 30.5% to 42.4% since 2000, and it is projected to reach 85% by 2030. Obesity is a multifactorial disease: e.g. genes give the body instructions to respond to changes in its environment and in some cases predispose to obesity. Gene modification is a long-term process but epigenetics may have a more direct and faster impact. There are multiple risk factors that contribute to obesity development, and obesity increases the risk of various pathologies such as type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, sleep apnea, non-alcoholic fatty, and hypoventilation syndrome. Surgical treatment of obesity, when weight loss is achieved, has an impact on obesity-related comorbidities. Sleeve gastrectomy and Roux en Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) are the most common bariatric procedures, which act through different mechanisms in comorbidities resolution. RYGB is more effective in producing resolution and remission of type II diabetes mellitus, particularly in patients at high risk for relapse. RYGB and sleeve gastrectomy are similar in their reduction of other obesity-related comorbid conditions with the exception of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Finally, in conclusion, we ultimately need to change the environmental stressors that influence epigenetic markers. Endorsed by: [Image]

With Johnson & Johnson MedTech

Published

Mar 2021

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