Hazem A. Elariny, MD, PhD, FACS combines surgical practice with a background in molecular biology and biochemistry. He earned his MD at Louisiana State University Medical Center in Shreveport in 1990 and completed general surgery training at the Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation, including service as chief resident in 1995–1996. His PhD in biochemistry, completed in 2000, examined molecular mechanisms of early mammary tumor development; this work spanned residency and clinical practice.
His practice includes primary and complex revisional bariatric surgery, with laparoscopic and robotic approaches selected for the patient and operation. His 2024 curriculum vitae reports more than 5,000 career procedures, including more than 3,000 bariatric procedures. These are historical totals, not a current outcomes report.
His professional background includes minimally invasive and bariatric surgical teaching and fellowship direction beginning in 2003. Advanced training listed in his CV includes gastrointestinal and solid-organ laparoscopy, gastric bypass, biliopancreatic diversion, adjustable gastric banding and robotic surgical proctoring.
The CV records American Board of Surgery certification beginning in 1998 and subsequent recertification. The practice’s letterhead identifies board certification in surgery and competencies spanning general, hepatobiliary, oncologic, trauma, minimally invasive, robotic and bariatric surgery.
Teaching and professional development
Historical appointments listed in his CV include affiliated faculty at George Mason University’s Center for the Study of Genomics in Liver Diseases (2004–2016) and associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Northern Virginia campus (2006–2016). He directed the Inova minimally invasive and bariatric fellowship beginning in 2003.
His teaching has included surgical residents, medical students, physician-assistant students and practicing surgeons. The CV documents courses on staged bariatric surgery and duodenal switch, participation in the 2007 International Consensus Summit for Sleeve Gastrectomy, and a 2014 Inova Fairfax general surgery residency Teacher of the Year award.
His 2002 SAGES presentation addressed early results of primary sleeve gastrectomy. This is part of his documented work on sleeve and banded-sleeve surgery. Research and clinical experience inform the practice’s emphasis on explaining alternatives and asking patients to demonstrate understanding.
Edward E. Mason, MD, PhD (1920–2020)
Edward E. Mason helped establish bariatric surgery through his work on gastric bypass and vertical banded gastroplasty. ASMBS honors its founder in the Edward E. Mason Historical Library. His legacy remains relevant when explaining the history of pouch and outlet restriction.
Source: ASMBS, Dr. Edward E. Mason Historical Library; ASMBS Presidents — Edward E. Mason; ASMBS video archive, 2021 Mason Lecture.
This photograph records Dr. Elariny’s meeting with Dr. Mason. It connects today’s discussion of restrictive operations with the history of the field. Historical vertical banded gastroplasty and modern banded sleeve have different anatomy.
Nicola Scopinaro, MD (1945–2020)
Nicola Scopinaro developed biliopancreatic diversion and helped advance the study of metabolic surgery. ASMBS included him alongside Edward Mason and Harvey Sugerman in its 2021 tribute to pioneers of the field. His work is relevant to understanding the origins of biliopancreatic diversion and subsequent duodenal-switch procedures.
Source: ASMBS, 2021 Mason Lecture — “Honoring Three Pillars of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery” (Jaime Ponce, MD). Scopinaro died 28 October 2020.
This photograph records Dr. Elariny’s meeting with Professor Scopinaro. BPD and BPD-DS remain distinct operations; understanding their history helps explain intestinal routing, nutritional effects and revisional choices.
Research and scholarship
Dr. Elariny’s publication record includes gastric tissue thickness, visceral adipose gene expression, insulin resistance, obesity-related fatty liver disease and perioperative care. His CV also documents collaborative presentations at national and international scientific meetings.
- Tissue thickness of human stomach measured on excised gastric specimens (2005), relevant to surgical stapling design.
- Obesity-related differential gene expression in visceral adipose tissue (2005).
- Adipose-tissue gene expression, fatty liver disease and insulin resistance (2006).
- Metabolic syndrome after laparoscopic bariatric surgery (2008).
- Energy-metabolism gene expression in gastric tissue (2014).
These publications describe research contributions; individual study findings do not establish a guaranteed surgical result.