Now you can read Bogotá! for free in the Kindle lending library.. (I hope this inspires some generosity among critics for impoverished medical writers – leave some positive feedback about the book!!)
Tag Archives: Cardioinfantil
New article at Colombia Reports.com
Bogota’s Hottest Young Surgeons is my latest article on Colombia Reports – talking about some of the great young surgeons here in the capital;
1. Dr. Juan Pablo Umana (cardiac surgeon)
2/3. Dr. Ivan Santos and Dr. Freddy Sanabria, (plastic surgeons)
4. Dr. Costanza Moreno (orthopedics)
5. Dr. Juan Carlos Garzon (thoracic surgeon) and
6. Dr. Jose Felix Castro (general surgeon)
and some of the things they are doing (which all of my loyal readers already know all about!)
It was a different style of writing than I am used to – but I enjoyed it, and hope to do another article in the future.
Update: After getting a few requests – I’ve re-posted the article here. (But, I’d appreciate it if you went to Colombia Reports anyway, so the editors can know how many people are reading the articles – and hope that they will publish more in the future!)
From Colombia Reports.com
Bogota’s Hottest Young Surgeons
Don’t let their youth fool you. These young Bogota surgeons are well versed in the latest technologies and the newest surgical techniques, and are changing the face of, and bringing new sophistication to the capital’s medical community.
Dr. Juan Pablo Umana, 46, Cardiac surgeon
A Bogota native, Dr. Juan Pablo Umana, with his Stanford education, quintessential rugged good looks and a refreshing outlook, brings a California flavor to Fundacion Cardioinfantil, where he has been the Chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery since 2004. He, along with Dr. Nestor Sandoval have ushered in a new era of Cardiac Surgery in Bogota with a expanding and state-of-the-art cardiac surgery service line. Notably, in 1997, Dr. Umana along with Dr. Memhet Oz invented the first mitral clip for percutaneous valve repair. During surgery, he is focused, meticulous and unflappable. Despite being the most senior of the surgeons listed here, he is just hitting his stride.
Dr. Ivan Adolfo Santos, 41, Plastic Surgeon
Dr. Ivan Santos operates at Clinica Shaio, and is one of a trio of celebrity plastic surgeons here in Bogota. Genetically blessed, he looks ten years younger than his 41 years. In spite of his boyish good looks and shy nature, Dr. Santos is a confident and talented surgeon; more importantly, he gets results. Watching Dr. Santos operate is similar to watching a symphony conductor orchestrate classic music composures with 160 musicians. He never misses a beat, and he is simultaneously aware of everything around him. With his precision in the operating room and aggressive post-operative therapies, patients recover faster, with less pain, and leave his office looking and feeling their best.
Dra. Constanza Moreno Serrano, 40, Orthopedic Surgeon
Dra. Constanza Moreno is orthopedic surgeon specializing in hand and microsurgery such as digital reattachment after traumatic injury, reconstructive surgery and correction of congenital deformities. After training with the famed Dr. Harold Kleinert and Dr. Breidenbach III in Louisville, Kentucky, she returned to Bogota in 2005. She is currently developing a hand transplant program for victims of landmines. Next week, she is presenting her proposal at the International Hand and Composite Tissue Allotransplantation Society in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Juan Carlos Garzon, 39, Thoracic Surgeon
Dr. Juan Carlos Garzon is a man of action; operating at several facilities across Bogota. Trained in Hong Kong, Dr. Garzon excels at the more difficult thoracic cases. As one of just a few board-certified thoracic surgeons in Colombia, he is using video-assisted thoracoscopy to able to treat complex disease with minimal incisions. He is also teaching this technique to surgeons across Colombia. During cases, he is relaxed, controlled and ready for anything.
Dr. Freddy Sanabria S., 38, Plastic Surgeon
Dr. Freddy Sanabria, a young Richard Gere look-a-like, makes his own pretty women as one-half of the Sanabria plastic surgery practice. Trained at the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford University, he brings skill, dedication and the latest cosmetic innovations to a well-established surgical clinic. While operating, he is confident, focused and detail oriented, and his surgical team anticipates his every need.
Dr. Jose Felix Castro, 37, General Surgeon
Dr. Jose Felix Castro is a staff surgeon at Clinica del Country. This magna cum laude academic scholar is one of a few of the talented young general surgeons in Bogota who have embraced single port laparoscopy, which means abdominal surgery without a scar. While Dr. Castro is the youngest of our line up, he brings a wealth of experience to the operating room.
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Dr. Juan Fernando Ramon, Neurosurgery
Spent the morning with Dr. Juan Fernando Ramon, neurosurgeon at Hospital Centro de la Policia. (He also operates at two other hospitals). Dr. Ramon is one of only a handful of neurosurgeons in Colombia who performs neuroendoscopy.
We toured the hospital – and then I watched him perform a small procedure for radiculopathy (in a patient with chronic back pain.) The hospital has a fully-equipped $4 million dollar neuro-suite (not seen in photo below.)
The patient kindly gave permission for the use of the photos
- Dr. Ramon (and patient)
Met with Dr. Camilo Osorio, Thoracic surgeon this afternoon, for patient consultations. He was great – spent a lot of time with patients explaining procedures, and answering questions. He also calls all of his patients a few days before and after surgery – just to see how they are doing. I’ll see Dr. Osorio in the operating room soon.
Ran into Dr. Rincon (cardiac surgeon) from SaludCoop – literally. I plan to go back over to SaludCoop and see him and Dr. Mauricio Jimenez again.
I’ve decided to cease my pursuit of Dr. Camilo Prieto- after several emails, phone calls (by other surgeons vouching for me) and a visit – I just have to assume he isn’t interested in participating. I only pursued him so far because besides being heavily advertised, and well-known here, I never actually got to speak to him personally, and never got a “no” from anyone.. But now that others have contacted him on my behalf – I’ll definitely take that as a ‘no’..
A day of Passion!
Had a long, but exciting day, with some interesting doctors – who are strikingly passionate about their work, which is always wonderful to see.
This morning, I traveled out to Chia, to the University of Sabana to visit with Dr. Camilo Osorio Barker, MD who is the Dean of Medicine, (and a practicing thoracic surgeon.) Like many thoracic surgeons here in Colombia, Dr. Osorio practices at several locations, (primarily out in Chia at the University-affiliated hospital) but he also sees patients at Cardioinfantil. (He is partnered with Dr. Tellez and Dr. Garzon, both of whom we’ve interviewed previously)
One three- day weekend a month, he sees patients in Medellin. He primarily specializes in the treatment of hyperhidrosis (excess sweating of palms, facial flushing) by thorascopic sympathectomy. He report that this makes up about 90% of his practice – with the remainder of cases as VATS lung resections, and other lung procedures. There’s a lot more to tell – but it’s been a long day, and I have an early appointment tomorrow with Dr. Ramon (neurosurgery) at Hospital Centro de Policia..
Don’t worry – I will be seeing Dr. Osorio again soon.
Next stop was Dr. Fernando Hakim, a neurosurgeon at Santa Fe de Bogota. He was a fantastic interview – while he does the whole spectrum of neurosurgical procedures for vascular malformations, tumors, spinal problems, etc, he is best known for his treatment of normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).
(As I mentioned in a previous post) It seems almost inevitable, or inescapable that the son of the famed Dr. Salomon Hakim (who developed the first treatment for normal pressure hydrocephalus) – has carried on his father’s legacy. But Dr. Fernando Hakim is passionate about neurosurgery, and has certainly made his mark..
He clearly loves his work – I could have interviewed him for hours, and hours (but he’s a busy neurosurgeon, so I didn’t). I will be seeing him again soon – (next week) and I’ll bring more information then.
Lastly, I stopped in to see Dr. Jose Felix Castro, general surgeon for a quick visit to get some last minute information for another project I am working on..
In the the OR with Dr. Juan Pablo Umana & Dr. Ricardo Nasser
Dr. Juan Pablo Umana, cardiac surgeon
Dr. Juan Pablo Umana
Cardiac Surgeon at Fundacion Cardioinfantil
Spent the morning in the operating room with Dr. Juan Pablo Umana. Dr. Umana is the Chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery at Cardioinfantil.
Ran into an old friend while I was there..
Dr. Jose Pomares, Anesthesia
Dr. Pomares was a anesthesia resident over at Medihelp in Cartagena, when I was writing hidden gem.. I recognized those emerald eyes right away.. (not sure if I would have recognized him without the mask.)
Dr. Umana had another case, but so did I – over at Santa Fe de Bogota..
Went back to see Dr. Ricardo Nasser, Chief of Bariatric Surgery. He just returned from the Bariatric Surgery conference in Cartagena, and was back at work, in the operating room.
Dr. Ricardo Nasser
Bariatric Surgeon – Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota
Dr. Richard Nasser, Bariatric surgeon
The Umana Phenomenon
Dr. Juan Pablo Umana, Cardioinfantil
Since starting the Bogota project, I’ve followed the reported statistics for the blog – which tells me what my readers are looking for, and what they want.. Much of this is as expected – heavily advertised plastic surgeons bring a lot of traffic to the site – and the cardiovascular topics (cardiac surgery, carotid disease) bring quite a few readers to the sister site, cartagenasurgery, so I’ve tried to gear some of the discussions to what people have been looking for..
But then, there are findings that are not what I expected:
And the biggest surprise of all has been the continued fascination/ success / popularity of Dr. Juan Pablo Umana..
in the operating room with Dr. Juan Pablo Umana
Or perhaps, I should phrase that better: after meeting and interviewing with Dr. Umana – his professional success as Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Cardioinfantil is certainly NO surprise.. what has surprised me is his consistent ranking as the #1 search term for this/ and the cartagena surgery website..
In fact, this week; “Dr. Juan Pablo Umana”, “Juan P. Umana,” and “Umana, cardioinfantil” are the top three search terms, respectively.
I spoke to him about it (he’s just as surprised as I am; heart surgeons are not usually web celebrities, if you exclude Dr. Oz) and we are planning to meet again, so I can try and give my readers what they want.. So, if there is anything specific that you want to know – drop me a line or a comment, and I will be sure to ask him at our next meeting. But now I’ve got to run and meet Dr. Sanabria..
cardioinfantil
at Cardioinfantil
Another morning in the operating room theater at Cardioinfantil.. Always great to watch Dr. Garzon at work – smooth and effortless, every time.
Spent this afternoon interviewing a general surgeon, Dr. Joaquin Guerra Nino over at Clinica de la Mujer..
More time in the OR tomorrow with Dr. Cabal with interviews in the afternoon..
Finished a tenative cover design for the new book.. Going to get some feedback, and then I’ll post it for your review..
Thoracics..
This will be a quick post this evening before I run back out to catch another case.
Spent most of the morning in the OR with Dr. Mario Andres Lopez Ordenez (Thoracic Surgery) over at Mederi.. Complex case but he handled it beautifully. (and I remembered to get photos, so I will post later when I have more time.)
Dr. Mario Lopez, Thoracic Surgeon
Then I raced over to meet with Dr. Luis Jaime Tellez Rodriguez (Thoracic Surgery) over at Cardioinfantil. He works with Dr. Garzon. No surgery this afternoon, but just give me time! To be fair – he’s a lot like Dr. Edgar Guiterrez, (Cartagena) and he sees patients at several facilities; Cardioinfantil, Clinica Colombia, Clinica Reina Sofia.
Now I’m getting ready to head back over to see Dr. Fernando Arias at Santa Fe de Bogota. I interviewed him this afternoon – he’s a real interesting guy so I’ll write more about him later – but now I am heading back to see him at work.
Dr. Fernando Arias, General & Oncology Surgeon
Bogota notes
Re-post from sister site.
January 27th, 2011 – Surgical Tourism in Bogota, Colombia
Fundacion CardioinfantilCurrently working on my latest project – here in Bogota, Colombia. So far everyone I’ve contacted has been wonderfully gracious – even with very little notice!
Chief of (adult) Cardiac Surgery, Dr. Juan Pablo Umana and Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Dr. Nestor Sandoval; Fundacion CardioinfantilJanuary 31, 2011
Spending some more time over at Cardioinfantil this afternoon. I have been contacting surgeons all over the city, and my schedule is quickly filling up.
Talked with Dr. Renato Bresciano, a very nice (talented) pediatric cardiovascular surgeon, and visited one of his patients in the NICU this afternoon – a little baby girl just out of the operating room. Spoke with the nursing staff – it’s great how nurses from everywhere – we all connect, and all care and worry about the same things.
I’ll be over at the Shaio Clinic later this week.
10 February 2011 –
It’s been a busy week – at Clinica Shaio, Cardioinfantil, Clinica del Country (San Sebastian) and tomorrow SaludCoop.. In between all of that – I’ve been hitting the pavement to check out some private clinics..
12 February 2011
Not enough hours in the day – racing around Bogota, all day, everyday, meeting new people, taking notes, photos.. talking to patients in hospitals, shaking hands – trying to get a glimpse inside at the everyday workings.. Then back to the apartment at night, typing, typing, typing.. Researching, emailing, requesting more interviews..
My main expense these days is the cab fare.. Already booked up with meetings for the next two weeks, but I’ll try to squeeze as many as possible in – without crowding.. Still going to the ORs – since that’s the real reality for our patients.. Spending as much time as I can at each site, going back for second, third, fourth, even fifth visits – until I almost feel like staff sometimes..
Next week – Bariatric week..
with Dr. Urazon, Plastic Surgeon
15 February 2011 – wow – what a different an hour makes..
when you are in the company of Dr. Chaux, Bariatric surgeon.. I spent much of the day with Dr. Chaux and his group – in the operating room, observing.. All procedures in under an hour.. (Roux N Y gastric bypass, sleeve ect..) Don’t worry – he certainly wasn’t rushed about it – just efficient, meticulous..
24 February 2011
Been too busy meeting physicians, spending time in the OR and writing to keep up.. Spent time with a talented young Thoracic surgeon today, Dr. Juan Carlos Garzon. Sorry, no pictures this time – too busy to stop and take any! (which frequently happens).
Met quite a few terrific surgeons, spending a lot of time on my feet, peeking over their shoulders so I can tell my readers everything they need to know. A couple more surgeries tomorrow and a full weekend too..
Love, Life and Surgery in Latin America is now Colombian Culture & Cuisine 