Med School/Year Graduated: Autonomous University of Guadalajara, 2001
Years in Practice: 18
This is your 16th consecutive Top Docs list. Congrats! How many surgeries do you estimate you’ve performed in your career?
Around 6,500 surgeries at this point.
Is there a functional difference between cardiovascular surgery and cardiothoracic surgery?
Cardiovascular refers [strictly] to heart surgery and the peripheral vasculature. Cardiothoracic deals with not only cardiac and vascular, but also thoracic structures such as the lungs and esophagus.
You have specialty training in the TAVR procedure. Can you explain it for the layperson?
Yes, the procedure is also known as transcatheter aortic valve replacement. It’s a percutaneous option [for heart valve replacement] where you get access into the groin artery, advance a wire through the aortic valve and deploy a new aortic valve into the diseased one.
You’re an educator at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and Maricopa Integrated Health Systems. What is your favorite part of teaching?
[Helping] young surgeons develop into competent attending surgeons through one-on-one interaction in the operating room and in the intensive care unit. Biggest challenges? Some of them are dealing with limited hours the students are allowed to work. There’s a lot of information to learn and understand in a limited amount of time.
You went to med school in Guadalajara! Any culinary specialties of that city that you miss?
The tacos!
Can you find Guadalajaran tacos at any restaurants in the Valley?
There are similar places in Phoenix where you can find the same type of food and the ambiance. Taco Boys, Don José Mexican Food and Rosita’s Place [all do a good job].
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Spending time with my family traveling and exploring new places.
“If I wasn’t a doctor, I’d be…”
Probably still in the pool construction business. I built swimming pools in Phoenix for 10 years before I went to medical school.
