Dr. Emma Jean Patterson, MD, FRCSC, FACS, FASMBS, DABS-FPMBS
Expert Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgeon & Expert Witness
Dr. Patterson is a distinguished expert in laparoscopic bariatric and revisional surgery with over 25 years of experience and more than 6,000 procedures performed since completing a fellowship in advanced laparoscopic surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, where she first cultivated her passion for bariatric surgery.
A pioneer in her field, Dr. Patterson became the first surgeon in the Northwest to specialize in laparoscopic bariatric surgery and performed the region’s first laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (Lap‑Band) procedure in 2000.
As an expert bariatric surgeon, Dr. Patterson routinely performs hundreds of procedures annually; Sleeve Gastrectomy, Gastric Bypass, Lap Band, and advanced revisional surgery. She is a board‑certified diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a founding partner and Bariatric Medical Director at Wilshire Surgery Center, designated a MBSAQIP Center of Excellence (ASMBS 2022 Annual Meeting | #ASMBS2022).
Dr. Patterson is internationally recognized for her clinical research and teaching. She has authored over 50 peer‑reviewed papers and 20 book chapters—including publications in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)—and contributed significantly to the NIH‑funded bariatric surgery research consortium, Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS) (ASMBS 2022 Annual Meeting | #ASMBS2022).
In addition to her surgical and academic achievements, Dr. Patterson is an expert on vitamin deficiency in post‑bariatric patients—particularly thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency and Wernicke’s encephalopathy—and actively publishes and presents on this critical topic (Practical Gastro). She also brings her medical‑legal expertise as a nationally recognized expert witness in medical malpractice cases related to bariatric surgery and nutritional care (YouTube).
