Dr. Obonoruma Ekhaese, DO

Born and raised in Nigeria, Dr. Obonoruma Imariabe Ekhaese moved to Houston when he was 17 years old, attended San Jacinto College South Campus for two years and ultimately graduated from the University of Houston before heading out west to study medicine.

In 2000, Dr. Ekhaese graduated with his medical degree from the Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California. After completing a year-long internship in Illinois at Franciscan St. James Health Olympia Fields, he trained as a resident with Michigan State University (MSU) College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital. Next, Dr. Ekhaese cared for patients in a private practice setting in Central Illinois before moving back to Texas and completing a minimally invasive surgery fellowship with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth at Houston Northwest Medical Center in 2009.

Board certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Surgery (AOBS) in general surgery, Dr. Ekhaese specializes in bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery) and revision bariatric surgery, endoscopic surgery (minimally invasive surgery or MIS), hernia surgery (hernia repair surgery, herniorrhaphy, hernioplasty, abdominal wall reconstruction or abdominal wall reconstructive surgery), reflux surgery (antireflux surgery, gastroesophageal reflux disease surgery, GERD surgery or foregut surgery) and robotic surgery (robot-assisted surgery). He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

Dr. Ekhaese is an assistant professor in the Department of General Surgery and Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery at McGovern Medical School. He co-authored the Bariatric Surgery chapter in Yamada’s Textbook of Gastroenterology, 6^th edition. In addition, Dr. Ekhaese is active in academic global surgery, which is a worldwide effort to close the global gap in accessing safe surgical care. He has volunteered at hospitals in Haiti, Honduras, Kenya and Nigeria.