Dr. Davtyan is a prominent and respected
bariatric surgeon in
Beverly Hills, California, who is currently
at the forefront of the battle against obesity. He specializes
in the newest and least invasive surgical weight loss procedure
available, the Lap-band system. He is not only one of the most
knowledgeable surgeons currently performing the procedure, but
he is also a Lap-band patient himself. “Having to struggle
with weight problems throughout my life and seeing the positive
effects of this great tool has made me a fighter for this cause,”
he says. “I try to speak out anytime and anywhere to raise
awareness about obesity and the effectiveness of the Lap-band
in combating this debilitating disease.”
Although he was able to fight his genetic predisposition to
obesity through exercise during the early years of this life,
Dr. Davtyan started to experience
progressive weight gain by the late 1980s. He had to keep up
with a hectic timetable, which often meant 120 hours of work
a week. “I am the kind of person who copes with stress
by eating more, so I became overweight during my Medical School
years. I became obese during my surgery residency and eventually
morbidly obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 by the time
I completed my training.” He graduated with honors from
UCLA and was at the top of his surgical residency class, but
the efforts he put into his training took a toll on his health.
During his three-year Surgical Oncology Fellowship at MD Anderson
Cancer Center at the University of Texas and John Wayne Cancer
Institute in Los Angeles, he put on additional pounds. “It
took me just a few years to get from a weight of 230 pounds
to 260 pounds,”
Dr. Davtyan
said. “This is fairly typical, as obesity impacts one’s
metabolism by causing insulin resistance, which in turn accelerates
the weight gain.”
With his rigorous workload as a young general surgeon,
Dr.
Davtyan found little time to devote to physical activity
and continued to gain weight. By the late 1990s, he had begun
to consider bariatric surgery. However, knowing the risks and
complications involved with the gastric bypass procedure made
him hesitant. “I knew there were no effective medications
to treat my obesity, as I needed meaningful weight loss of 50
pounds at the least, but I also knew that I was not going to
have a drastic procedure like the gastric bypass either. Thus,
my choice had been to accept my obesity, live with it and move
on.”
In February 2001, while attending a conference on laparoscopic
bariatric surgery,
Dr. Davtyan met
Dr. Guy-Bernard Cadière, one of the surgeons who pioneered
laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. He learned about the
remarkable safety and impressive results of the Lap-band from
Dr. Cadière and other world-renown bariatric surgeons,
including Dr. George Fielding and Dr. Peter O’Brien. He
was particularly impressed with the safety of this procedure,
which does not permanently alter the anatomy of the digestive
system and is reversible. The procedure is performed laparoscopically,
and involves placing an inflatable band around the upper part
of the stomach, creating a small pouch with a narrow outlet,
which limits the capacity of the stomach and causes it to feel
full after ingesting small amounts of food. Once implanted,
the band can be adjusted in the doctor’s office in a matter
of minutes. It can be tightened to increase the weight loss,
or loosened when needed, such as during pregnancy or periods
of illnesses. Over the next few months,
Dr.
Davtyan solidified his decision to have the surgery. In
October 2001, he flew to Belgium. He observed Dr. Cadière
perform several procedures, and after undergoing his own procedure,
Dr. Davtyan assisted Dr. Cadière
in a number of Lap-band surgeries.
Within a few weeks of his operation, most of his obesity-related
problems had begun to subside. His energy level increased
and he continued to gradually lose weight. By the time he
flew back to Belgium for his first adjustment a few months
after his surgery, he had lost 25 pounds without feeling the
discomfort of hunger, vomiting or nutritional deficiencies.
