Bariatric Medicine with Teresa LaMasters, FACS, MD

Bariatric medicine is medical weight management. Bariatricians specialize in the medical treatment of obesity and related disorders. Bariatricians can often be confused with bariatric surgeons who perform weight-loss surgeries such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy. 

About Teresa LaMasters, FACS, MD

Dr. LaMasters received her medical degree from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine in 2001.  She completed her residency in General Surgery at the University of Kansas School of Medicine - Wichita in 2006.  She then went on to complete advanced training with a fellowship in Minimally Invasive Surgery with an emphasis in Bariatric and Robotic Surgery in 2007 at Stanford University in California. She also expanded her expertise in medical management of obesity and completed her Board Certification in Obesity Medicine obtaining her DABOM in 2019.

She leads a very busy, successful practice with high quality outcomes and has performed over 3000 bariatric surgeries in the past 14+ years. UnityPoint Clinic Weight Loss Specialists in West Des Moines, Iowa and the Iowa Methodist Medical Center is a Comprehensive Accredited Center through the American College of Surgeons MBSAQIP.

Dr. LaMasters currently serves as a Secretary Treasurer for the Executive Council for the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and will proceed on to serve as President elect in June 2021 and then President of ASMBS in 2022.  She has previously served as the co-chair for the State Chapter Committee and Access to Care Committees for ASMBS.  She is the Executive Council liaison for the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and Public Education Committee for ASMBS.  She is Past President of the Iowa State Chapter of the ASMBS. She lead the efforts to organize the state chapter and served as the first president.    

She serves on the Standards and Verification committee for the MBSAQIP and the American College of Surgeons. She helps develop the quality standards for the national accreditation program and serves as a site surveyor and coach for quality improvement. She is passionate about high quality outcomes and continuous quality improvement. She is a highly sought after expert speaker for surgical and medical treatment of the disease of obesity around the United States and Internationally as well.