Dr. Julie Ellner dedicates her entire practice to bariatric surgery. She has been certified by the American Society of Bariatric Surgery as a Center of Excellence bariatric surgeon.
She trained at the University of Iowa, under the grandfather of bariatric surgery, Dr. Edward Mason, who performed the very first gastric bypass in the 1960s. Following residency training, she joined the practice that pioneered the laparoscopic technique to perform the gastric bypass.
She was the first woman in the world to perform the laparoscopic gastric bypass, and performed the surgery on one of the surgeons who invented it. She has been a clinical instructor for Ethicon Endosurgery, teaching surgeons from across the globe how to perform this groundbreaking surgery.
Dr. Ellner offers a range of bariatric surgical options, and is fully credentialed to place both the Allergan and Ethicon gastric bands. She developed the only Stomaphyx incisionless revision program in San Diego offering an incision-free stomach tightening for gastric bypass patients.
Dr Ellner’s motivation for dedicating her career to the treatment of obesity stems from her own family being devastated by this disease. Raised in a tiny town in Nebraska, she was mentored from a young age by country doctors, who instilled a very personal passion for individual patient care. Having learned the art of human care from these role models, she built her practice on these simple principles.
Dr Ellner’s practice has nationwide recognition and she has been described by CBS News as “one of this country’s leading bypass surgeons.”
Accepts new patients