Category Archives: Uncategorized

Goodbye Colombia!

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fresh fruit at the market

My last today here – and I managed not to work my final day – until now.. Spent the day at the market, and spent the afternoon with friends…

Going to do one last post, before I finish packing up and getting ready to leave tomorrow morning.. Hard to believe leaving would be so difficult – but this has been an amazing time.. Writing this book has been a dream come true, even though at times it’s been frustrating, exhausting..

Making new friends here was an added bonus – but it makes it hard to leave..who would have guessed the girl from the itty bitty town in Virginia would enjoy the big city so much?

For everyone wh s daunted by the thought of a big city like Bogotá, in Colombia, no less.. Don’t be afraid – enjoy the vibrant life that is Bogotá.. the sophisticated mix of city, with quaint country traditions like bike riding on Sundays..

"the office" where I spent a lot of time writing, (and Victor, who looked out for me)

Now, it’s time to start editing.. Be back in August to present the book..

Interview with ProExport

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Update: 14 May 2011: I received a comment on the website from a Mr. Gabriel Amorocho (of ProExport) inviting questions – so I have sent him several.. Thank you for contacting me. I will update readers and let them know if I receive a reply..

Original Post

There’s nothing like a government agency to remind you of your own insignificance.  In this case, it’s Colombia’s ProExport..  ProExport is the government tourism division and one of its specific aims is to promote medical tourism to Colombia..  and here I am, writing a guide to medical tourism in Colombia…hmmm.

So as a writer on medical tourism in Colombia – I thought it would be nice to meet with someone over there, just to hear more about ProExport, what they do, what they are doing to further medical tourism, what they thought the future of medical tourism was in Colombia, etc..  It was a pretty important interview for me – because I thought I would be able to get a lot of questions answered for potential medical travelers, from an official source… yeah – it would have been nice.. But..

Nope, Nada, Never.  Not even after five months!  of calling, emailing and trying to get an appointment with someone, anyone, over at ProExport.  Everyone I’ve met here has tried to intercede, even my downstairs neighbor (who knows someone who knows someone etc..)  to get me just twenty minutes with someone from ProExport..  I’ve emailed several people at ProExport directly, from the information they provided..  I even managed to navigate the operators, with multiple transfers only to be transferred to an endlessly ringing phone.. and called again, and again, and again..  Never even got a form response to my emails..

It was easier – to get a reply from the President himself, (President Juan Manual Santos), and he was exceeding gracious about it..  (I sent him a copy of my first book – silly, but I was excited – my very first book, and just a week or so later, I received a very nice thank you note..)

So it’s the last weekday, of my last week here in Bogota, so I guess this humble writer, has been humbled again – and I will accept defeat.. There will be no ProExport interview for this unknown writer..

A tribute to Dr. Salomon Hakim

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Dr. Salomon Hakim, the Father of Modern Neurosurgery died yesterday here in Bogota. I never had the privilege of meeting Dr. Hakim, and I was not an ardent follower of his work.

But I did have the pleasure of interviewing his son, Dr. Fernando Hakim . I had heard Dr. Salomon Hakim’s name mentioned in passing, so I had familiarized myself with him prior to meeting Dr. Fernando Hakim, thus I knew of his contributions to the treatment of hydrocephalus,  and the field of neurosurgery, and the development of the Hakim valve.  I had even gone by San Juan de Dios in downtown Bogota, and tried to imagine him, hard at work, in the now deserted halls.

I remember upon my first meeting with Dr. Hakim being daunted by his accomplishments, and then thinking, if I felt daunted by his achievements, what was it like to be the son of Salomon Hakim?

But, Dr. Fernando Hakim – he didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps.. He tread through them, and past them to build upon his father’s body of work, and create new innovations. That is the greatest tribute anyone could ever give Dr. Salomon Hakim, a man who dedicated his life to helping others.

In the OR with Dr. Buitrago, in the dentist’s chair and more

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Spent the morning at Shaio, in the operating room with Dr. Ricardo Buitrago.. Either my gringa accent is improving (doubtful) or I really have become a familiar face around there..  Observed Dr. Buitrago perform a couple of cases; the second was a VATS thymectomy, which definitely ranks above the traditional sternotomy.

Dr. Buitrago, thoracic surgeon

Ran into some strangely reticent native english speakers in the halls of Shaio today.. (Usually Americans, Brits and the like get real familiar with each other when we see another..) Didn’t introduce themselves even after I made a point of introducing myself.. Something’s up over at Clinica Shaio.. Is it a medical tourism company, or an impending branding agreement?  I’ll see what I can find out.

Next I checked in with Dr. Gamboa, DDS – for those of you reading from afar – dental evaluations are completely different – they require an actual patient visit (no observation here.)  Now that all of my family, friends, classmates and housemates have served as confederates for dental visits – I knew what was next when I cracked a tooth last week.. (Just so everyone knows how dedicated I am to my research – I had several dental repairs without anesthesia of any sort.. (no local, nada).   And truthfully, it went very well.. (and my teeth look / feel great..)

Dr. Gamboa, DDS

last, but certainly not least for today was Dr. Fabian Emura, MD, PhD.  He didn’t have a lot of time today, so I am going back Wednesday so I can tell you more about him, and the Emuracenter, which is doing a lot of interesting things for the diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancers..

Dr. Jairo Ramirez and Dra. Stella Martinez

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My early morning surgery plan fell apart – so I will try again next week. Met with Dr. Jairo Ramirez, MD, FACS over at Santa Fe de Bogota this morning. Dr. Ramirez is a vascular and thoracic surgeon, and the Chief of Vascular Surgery (at SF de B) but he reports the majority of his practice is the treatment of venous disease such as varicosities and venous stasis ulcers.

This afternoon, I met with Dra. Stella Martinez Jaramillo, (thoracic surgeon) and she is a fascinating lady. We had a great chat – and scheduled a day for me to see her in action..I am definitely looking forward to it.

Spoke with Dr. Javier Maldonado, cardiac surgeon on the phone today to set up an appointment next week over at Clinica Colombia. Now, I thought he completed some of his training in the USA but I could swear I heard soft traces of a southern accent – and Cleveland is a far cry from my native Virginia.. There must be a story there – or my overactive imagination.. I’ll keep you posted.

Dr. Sergio Abello and Dr. Felipe Roa

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Met with Dr. Sergio Abello, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in foot and ankle surgery and Dr. Felipe Roa, plastic surgeon.. Dr. Roa is the son of Dr. Tito Roa, and they share a practice..

Planning to follow both of them to the OR tomorrow and next week..

Dr. Francisco Cabal, Orthopedics

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Met with Dr. Francisco Cabal, orthopedic surgeon and international medical advisor (for Colombia) again, and he bids me to extend a warm welcome on his behalf to all North American patients coming to Colombia.  He also states that he is here to help ANY patient, interested in going to ANY city in Colombia for surgery including Medellin, Cali, Cartagena, Bogota and all parts in between.  I’ll be following him to the OR soon – more later.. 

Lest you think surgeons aren’t sympathetic to your discomfort – Dr. Cabal recently had ankle surgery, so he is definately walking a mile in your shoes..

Also met with Dr. Tito Tulio Roa, plastic surgeon, who has the distinction of having taught most of the plastic surgeons here in Colombia.

Filled up my date book with more interviews, and surgeries for the next few weeks..

Meeting with Mauricio Pelaez, Thoracic Surgeon later this afternoon, so I’ll post and let you know how that goes..

Rescheduled with the famous Dr. Hoyos – more on that next week.

Dr. Santos, almost Dr. Hoyos and Dr. Castro

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Full day today – met with Dr. Hernando Santos at Clinica Shaio – and I’ll be heading to the OR with him on Monday..

 Dr. Hoyos – he was in surgery when I arrived for our appointment, so I’ll try again soon..

Spent the evening with Dr. (Jose) Felix Castro, a very nice general surgeon, on staff at Clinica del Country.. Followed him to the OR for a case –

Dr. Ivan Santos, plastic surgery

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Dr. Ivan Santos

Dr. Ivan Santos, (right)

Spent time in the operating room at Shaio watching Dr. Ivan Santos operate this morning.  Operating rooms are large, clean, well-lit and all equipment is modern and fully functional.

Dr. Santos operates with a second surgeon assisting, Dr. Rudolfo Reyes.  Today’s case which was a combination of body and facial procedures was performed under a combination of local and conscious sedation.  Patient appeared comfortable during the procedure and all standardized intra-operative protocols were followed.  Sterility was maintained throughout the case.  (No intra-operative photos taken with patient in view – for privacy concerns.)

The particular case was more complex that average – patient was undergoing a revision after previous surgery several years ago (with another surgeon).  Dr. Santos was meticulous in attention to detail, calm and pleasant in demeanor, and aggressive in surgical management.  He has a good rapport with his OR team, who were able to anticipate his needs.

Going back on Monday for another case.

Note: Be careful when searching the internet for doctor information – there is a lot of disinformation out there (which is why I am writing a book).  Currently there is a doctor impersonating Dr. Ivan Santos – if you do a search for Dr. Santos – this doctor comes up, claiming to be in practice with him.  Please be careful everyone!)

More about Dr. Ivan Santos:

Back in the OR with Ivan Santos

Bogota’s celebrity surgeons

Bogota’s Hottest Surgeons

Dr. Ivan Santos and Clinica Shaio