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As an American who chooses to practice surgery in Mexico because he can provide medical care more affordably than in the U.S., Dr. Ariel Ortiz explains, “One of the most important factors in losing weight is to have hope. That’s why compassion and understanding are at the heart of our practice and why we have such high success rates.”
Dr. Ariel Ortiz (Board Certified, Mexican license #2526822) is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery. He was named one of the “Top 15 Bariatric Surgeons” in America by Newsweek magazine and is designated by the U.S. Surgical Review Corporation as an International Center of Excellence surgeon.
Practicing at the Obesity Control Center in Baja California, Dr. Ortiz is viewed as one of the world’s leading weight loss surgeons. Because of his work with obese teens, he was featured on TheDoctors, CNN, Dateline, MSNBC and The Oprah Winfrey Show where one of his patients was profiled for her amazing weight loss. Author of Lap-Band for Life, he has also served in a teaching role at such esteemed institutions as Yale and UCLA.
In 1996, after 10 years of medical school, internship and general surgery residency, Dr. Ortiz was awarded the National Achievement Award in General Surgery and chosen to be the guest of honor at a very unique workshop—one that would prove to revolutionize the way the world views weight-loss surgery.
During that event he met the innovator of an adjustable gastric implant to be used for weight-loss. Eventually this would become known as the Lap-Band and Dr. Ortiz subsequently learned this innovative surgical technique directly from him.
Eventually the manufacturer of the Lap-Band selected Dr. Ortiz to become its consultant, proctor and course director. For the next five years he would travel around the world training hundreds of surgeons on weight-loss surgery techniques.
When the Lap-Band was officially accepted by the FDA, Dr. Ortiz decided to open a state-of-the art hospital that would allow thousands of individuals to experience the freedom of weight-loss surgery at an affordable price.
Obesity Control Center was formed at that time and, more than a decade and nearly 10,000 procedures later, it is the world leader in weight-loss surgeries. Dr. Ortiz is now a pioneer in the groundbreaking Gastric Plication procedure, which was listed as one of the “Top Ten Innovations for 2012” by the renowned Cleveland Clinic. He was recently a featured speaker in Barcelona at the first international meeting on the surgery.
Nearly 85% of OCC patients come from the United States and 10% are Canadian citizens who choose to travel to Mexico for surgery despite having nationally subsidized healthcare. The rest of Dr. Ortiz’ patients come from around the world including the Far East, Africa, Europe and Asia.
Most recently, he has helped formulate the first all-natural nutritional supplement line of products for pre-and post surgery patients and opened The Ariel Center for plastic surgery to help patients restore their bodies after significant weight loss.
Practicing at the 
During that event he met the innovator of an adjustable gastric implant to be used for weight-loss. Eventually this would become known as the 
When the Lap-Band was officially accepted by the FDA, Dr. Ortiz decided to open a state-of-the art hospital that would allow thousands of individuals to experience the freedom of weight-loss surgery at an affordable price.
Nearly 85% of OCC patients come from the United States and 10% are Canadian citizens who choose to travel to Mexico for surgery despite having nationally subsidized healthcare. The rest of Dr. Ortiz’ patients come from around the world including the Far East, Africa, Europe and Asia.
