Bariatric Tourism

Rodrigo Gonzalez, M.D.

Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal & Bariatric Surgery Fellowship (2003-2004) University of South Florida College of Medicine Tampa, Florida, USA http://www.zbmi.com http://www.zbmi.com/cli-fp.htm
Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery Fellowship (2001-2003) Emory University School of Medicine Atlanta, Georgia, USA http://surgery.emory.edu/endosurgery/alumni.htm
Gastrointestinal and Hepato-Biliary Surgery Fellowship (2000-2001) Louis Pasteur University Strasbourg, France http://www-ulp.u-strasbg.fr/en/bienvenue
General Surgery Residency (1994-1999) Universidad Francisco Marroquín Guatemala City, Guatemala https://www.ufm.edu/

After finishing his General Surgery Residency training, Dr. Gonzalez traveled to the University of Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France, where he completed a two-year fellowship-training program in Gastrointestinal and Hepato-Biliary Surgery. He started his gastric banding surgery experience with the Sweedish Adjustable Gastric Band (REALIZE Band).

Afterwards, he joined the Advanced Laparoscopic Fellowship training program for two years at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA where he was first exposed to the laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure.

Finally, he completed a one-year Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal & Bariatric Surgery Fellowship training program at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, USA where he performed over 400 bariatric operations that year alone, including gastric bypass, LapBand, sleeve gastrectomies and revisional surgeries (converting failed or complicated bariatric operations to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass).

During the last 8 years, Dr. Gonzalez has completed hundreds of bariatric operations in 3 different countries (France, the United States, and Guatemala). These operations include gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and revisional bariatric operations.  His experience includes bariatric surgery through both open and laparoscopic surgery techniques.

Since his return to Guatemala, Dr. Gonzalez and has dedicated most of his practice to bariatric surgery. He is actively involved in research, teaching, and publishing his experience in international medical journals Publications By Dr. Gonzalez.

Society Memberships

American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS), 2004	Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons (SLS), 2002

Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), 2002	Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT), 2002	Societe Francaise de Chirurgie Digestive	Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates	Asociación de Gastroenterología de Guatemala (AGG), 2005