During a recent trip to Colombia, I stopped in to re-visit* renown Bogotá thoracic surgeon, Dr. Juan Carlos Garzon Ramirez. He’s tired from a long night with three back to back urgent cases – ending at 3 am but as always, he is charming, well-spoken and engaged in our discussions on thoracic surgery, and Bogotá, his home.
Dr. Juan Carlos Garzon is a dynamic, innovative young surgeon and was recently named one of Bogotá’s Hottest Young Surgeons by Adriaan Alsema of Colombia Reports for his efforts (April 2011**). (This article highlights several young surgeons contributing to the advancement of the Colombian medical community.) He currently works at several facilities including Fundacion Cardioinfantil, Clinica del Country, Clinica Colombia (and other Colsanitas facilities).
After completing his thoracic surgery training at the El Bosque in Bogotá, he went to Hong Kong for additional thoracoscopy training. He now trains other surgeons in these surgical techniques
During my visit, we talked about what he sees as the future of thoracic surgery (more minimally invasive surgery) the role of thoracic surgery in the medical tourism phenomenon and the potential role of Bogotá surgeons in this growing trend.
We also discussed his reaction to The Bogotá Surgeons which examines the interplay and dynamics among the twenty practicing thoracic surgeons in Bogotá, as well as the upcoming Thoracic Surgery conference this October (which Dr. Garzon chairs.) This year’s featured speaker, is Dr. Shu S. Lin, noted lung transplant surgeon (previously interviewed here.)
*Dr. Juan Carlos Garzon, is thoracic surgeon practicing in Bogotá, Colombia. He specializes in minimally invasive procedures such as VATS (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.) He was gracious enough during a recent visit to Bogotá to agree to several interviews as part of a separate project and is featured in both Bogotá! A Hidden Gem Guide to Surgical Tourism and The Thoracic Surgeons: Bogotá.*
More information about Dr. Garzon, and his surgical practice is available at his website, www.toracoscopica.com/
He also has several YouTube films, discussing surgical procedures (in Spanish)
**this report was based in part by information provided during an interview with Adriaan Alsema in April 2011, Medellin, Colombia.
Thoracic Surgery 