Dr. McColgan has been in private practice in the Long Beach, California area for the past 20 years, specializing in general, vascular, and advanced laparoscopic surgery. He was one of the first surgeons in the Los Angeles area to perform laparoscopic cholecystectomy in 1990. He has continued to apply his skills to perform the most advanced method of bariatric surgery, laparoscopic gastric bypass, and today is considered a leader in this field.

Dr. J. Stephen McColgan is from Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Boston College High School with highest honors. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston University, Summa Cum Laude with distinction in Biology.

He continued his education in medical school at the Boston University School of Medicine. He completed his general surgery training at the University of California, Irvine, where he was chief resident in general surgery. Additionally, he completed his MBA from the University of California, Irvine.

Dr. McColgan has served as Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Bellflower Medical Center for the past 10 years. He has also served on the Board of Directors and has held many other medical staff leadership positions during his 20 years of practice.

He has also worked with major corporations such as the US Surgical Corporation and the Ethicon Endo Surgical Corporation as a consultant to train and qualify surgeons in competencies to perform laparoscopic gastric bypass. In addition, he was the medical director of Onyx Corporation.

Dr. McColgan was also involved with the international divisions of US Surgical and Stryker Corporation. He was instrumental in developing a comprehensive program for an Advanced Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence at Piyavate Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, which serves as the teaching and corporate center for the Asia Pacific region.