Dr. Natan Zundel

IFSO Observership Program

 Dr. Zundel is a Clinical Professor of Surgery at the Department of Surgery University at Buffalo, NY. Additionally, functions as a consultant for the Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery of Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota, and as Bariatric Surgeon at Jackson North Medical center in Miami.Dr. Zundel has extensive experience with Minimally Invasive and bariatric surgical procedures. He is an active member of the following societies, serving on various committees and executive boards: ACS, ASMBS, SAGES, IFSO, IFSES, FELAC, ABE, ASGE, ALACE. Dr. Zundel has served as a Founder, Active or/and Honorary member of Surgical, Laparoscopic and/or Bariatric Societies in 46 Countries around the world.He was / is the President of several international surgical societies and meetings including the World Congress 2013-2015), the VI IFSO LAC Congress in Los Cabos, Mexico, (July 8-11,2015) and International Federation for Obesity Surgery (IFSO) (2015-2016),. He was former President and now currently serves as Governor for the ACS South Florida Chapter. Also, President of IFSES (2020-2023).Dr Zundel was elected Executive Director of FELAC on March 2017, a Federation that comprises around Thirty Thousand-General Surgeons from Latin America for the next 8 years.Dr Zundel was also voted by his peers and was a member of ASMBS Executive Council for the past 4 years.He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, books chapters, and other educational platforms. He is Editor of or Co-Editor of 8 Books. He currently serves on several editorial boards including: Bariatric Times, Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases (SOARD), Obesity Surgery, Surgical Laparoscopy, Endoscopy, Percutaneous Techniques, Surgical Endoscopy, Bariatric Surgical Practice and Patient Care in the US, along with 6 other international publications. He is an Ad-hoc reviewer for JACS, World Journal of Surgery, and Annals of Surgery.Dr Zundel has lectured extensively all over the world on Minimally Invasive and Bariatric topics. He also trained and proctored hundreds of surgeons, fellows and surgical residents on Bariatric and Minimally invasive procedures. He has been very active in developing, real and simulation training programs, like the LAP Project. Dr Zundel or his research has received more than 37 awards both nationally and internationally.He received the SAGES International Ambassador Award in 2015, the ASMBS Master Educator Award in 2017, the ASMBS Surgical Innovation Award 2018, Walter Pories Award in Washington D.C in 2021, and now the biggest honor for a Surgeon in his native country Colombia: Master of Colombian Surgery, given in a ceremony in November 2021. He will be awarded with the IFSO Life membership in 2022 and also, the Surgical Innovator Award IFSO 2022.Dr. Zundel was awarded the academic rank of Professor of Surgery at various universities in 4 different Countries. 

With International Federation for the Surgery and Other Therapies for Obesity

Training Surgeons as Skilled and Exceptional Humans

In this podcast, Dr. Cabrera and Dr. Zundel discuss surgical mentorship and sponsorship, highlighting the importance of nurturing surgeons as skilled professionals and well-rounded individuals. They stress that mentorship should be about time, not money, and extend beyond surgical skills to include personal and professional growth. The mentors underscore that sponsorship is not limited to academic or surgical success; it's about becoming better human beings. They offer practical insights on guiding mentees to excel in surgery and life. This podcast sheds light on how mentorship can shape future surgeons into not only skilled professionals but also emerging leaders.

MDT Development, How to maintain and improve your MDT

In this interesting masterclass, Dr. Zundel explains how to maintain an optimal multidisciplinary treatment of obese patients. As a systemic and multifactorial disease, obesity requires an approach that considers the biopsychosocial aspect. This approach is essential in current schemes that consider patient-centered care. The talk highlights the importance of the participation of the different members of the team to obtain the best results, especially in terms of weight loss. Input from specialists in nutrition, endocrinology, gastroenterology, psychology/psychiatry as well as cardiology, pulmonology, rehabilitation or even epidemiology add value when selecting, treating or monitoring these patients. In fact, it was one of the first recommendations when obesity treatment began to be systematized. Indeed, the factors that predict a good outcome after bariatric surgery include considering the recommendations made by a multidisciplinary approach. Likewise, patient education and the possibility for them to share their experiences and modify their habits before surgery are also of vital importance to achieve the best results. Finally, when recommending the best treatment for our patients, we must be open to considering options with which we are not necessarily familiar. Endorsed by: [Image]

With Johnson & Johnson MedTech

Presidential Adress: Dr. Higa. AIS Channel's worldwide educational performance recognized at IFSO 2017

[Image][Image] Kelvin Higa , President of IFSO, and  Natan Zundel , Past President of IFSO, presented the recent partnership between AIS Channel and IFSO based on digitalizing IFSO's educational contents in order to make them available to the global bariatric community. Further evidence of AIS's commitment to universal education for health care professionals across the world. Among the different topics discussed during the conferences, AIS took part in the ¨Training in Obesity and Bariatric Surgery¨ session, represented by Hugo De Lacy and Beatriz Martín-Pérez . The oral presentation “ AIS Channel: Learning Bariatric Surgery With The Latest Technologies ” emphasized the role played by AIS in training in bariatric surgery, as an essential reference worldwide. Through its multiple live broadcasts, international leaders in bariatric surgery demonstrated procedures such as robotic banded bypass and sleeved gastric bypass. The possibility of live interaction with the experts during the live congresses and surgeries brings surgeons from every corner of the world closer to the key opinion leaders, opening a new gateway to online and remote teaching. An outstanding effort was made by the AIS team regarding the teaching of revisional bariatric techniques . Surgical and endoscopic approaches, such as conversion of sleeve gastrectomy to gastric bypass, surgical management after failed laparoscopic Roux-En-Y gastric bypass, and endoscopic revision on a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass stoma dilation, were discussed. In addition, two of the live events were devoted to the training of young surgeons, with step-by-step procedures. An average of 12,000 live viewers from over 100 countries have followed each live bariatric event (AIS bariatric live audience record:  16,542 live viewers from 102 countries at https://aischannel.com/congress/13th-live-congress/). New tools were also introduced during the IFSO presentation, such as the new virtual reality simulation , which allows the surgeon to be inside the operating theatre, selecting the different cameras and perspectives. AIS Channel continues to grow among the surgical community, increasing its presence in surgical meetings as well as in scientific publications. Our commitment continues, supported by these achievements, and will endure, based on our engagement with universal training .

High incidence of erosive esophagitis and Barrett’s esophagus after sleeve gastrectomy

Clinical Case The prevalence of Barrett’s esophagus in Europe is around 1.3% to 1.6%. This incidence is claimed to be higher in patients on whom a sleeve gastrectomy has been performed. Dr. Alfredo Genco , from the Department of Surgical Sciences at La Sapienza University in Rome (Italy) argues that evaluating the gastroesophageal reflux after a sleeve on the basis of symptoms only is not enough. He reviews the literature and explains that there is an increase of Barrett’s esophagus from 0% to 14% in the long-term follow-up and that > 70% of the patients have bile reflux when evaluated with gastroscopy. Nearly 80% of patients have esophagitis according to the Los Angeles criteria. All this may be secondary to an intrathoracic migration of the esophago-gastric junction (72% of patients). He concludes that Barrett’s esophagus can progress despite medical therapy, and thus close follow-up including gastroscopy should be mandatory . In order to reduce reflux and its complications, a change of surgical procedure is needed to make sleeve gastrectomy safer. An international panel of experts from IFSO composed by Dr. Genco, Dr. Himpens, Dr. Lakdawala, Dr. Ramos, Dr. Angrisani, Dr. Higa, Dr. Zundel and Dr. Nimeri discuss the importance of GERD after sleeve gastrectomy, the treatment and prevention of Barrett’s esophagus in these patients, and the role of endoscopic follow-up and IBPs in these patients.