Dutson, Erik MD

Dr. Dutson received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1990 from The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia where he was on the Dean’s List. He subsequently attended medical school at Eastern Virginia Medical School, receiving his M.D. degree in 1995. After completing medical school, he remained in Norfolk to complete his general surgery residency training, which he completed with honors in 2000. Seeking to further his excellent clinical experience, he worked for one year as a Locum Tenens surgeon, which gave him the opportunity to participate in a variety of practices in different hospitals all over the country while helping out communities in dire need of a well-trained general surgeon.

An increasing interest in advancing surgical technologies guided Dr. Dutson to Strasbourg, France, where he worked for two years as a clinical and research fellow at the European Institute for Telesurgery at the University of Louis Pasteur. During this time, he learned a wide variety of advanced minimally invasive surgical techniques, including bariatric procedures, from a conglomeration of world-renowned experts. He participated in robotic surgical investigations, and helped develop and validate virtual and augmented reality applications for surgery. As part of this experience, he participated in the training of approximately 8000 surgeons from all over the world in advanced laparoscopic procedures and worked on a day-to-day basis with the team that performed the first-ever transatlantic telerobotic long-distance surgical procedure.

Upon returning to the United States, he joined the newly formed Minimally Invasive Section at UCLA’s Department of Surgery in September 2003.

Dr. Dutson is Board-Certified in Surgery and an Associate Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He has pending memberships in the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons (SLS) and the American Society of Bariatric Surgery (ASBS). He has authored several scientific papers that have been published or accepted for publication in peer reviewed surgical journals. He has also spoken at several local, national, and international meetings, as well as having helped to develop CME accreditation for web-based surgical education and worked as a web-based editor and author of surgical texts. His clinical interests include laparoscopic bariatric surgery (Roux en-Y gastric bypass & adjustable banding); laparoscopic gastric, upper and lower intestinal surgery; minimally invasive hiatal, paraesophageal, inguinal, ventral & incisional herniorrhapy; laparoscopic adrenalectomy & splenectomy; and flexible lower and upper endoscopy.