Juan Carlos Verdeja, M.D.

Director of Laparoscopy and Minimally Invasive Surgery; and Associate Professor

Surgery


Phone: 305-271-9777

Email: jverdej@fiu.edu

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Juan-Carlos Verdeja is a leading surgeon in South Florida, in practice in the community since 1989. He has dedicated himself to providing patients not just with high-quality care, but with cutting-edge technology to achieve this.

Verdeja graduated from medical school in 1984 with honors and was inducted into "Iron Arrow” (the highest attained at the University of Miami). He completed a five-year surgical residency in 1989 and was awarded the Upjohn Award for Outstanding Chief Resident. He coauthored the first scientific paper in the world literature on laparoscopic colon surgery and was instrumental in the invention of the technique of laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy.

Verdeja is recognized internationally as a pioneer in the development of advanced laparoscopic surgical techniques. In conjunction with this, he became active in the instrument and product design of surgical equipment and has invented several products widely used for surgery while maintaining a busy General Surgery practice. Verdeja is a voluntary clinical professor of surgery and on the adjunct faculty of several universities. Currently, he is Founding President of the Medical Staff of West Kendall Baptist Hospital and Medical Director of Emergency Surgical Services for Baptist Health South Florida. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons, and a Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery.

Verdeja is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Director of Laparoscopy and Minimally Invasive Surgery for Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. He is active in the oversight of the Surgery Clerkship Program, coordinating the academic role and teaching of the medical students at Baptist Health Institutions. He has an extensive list of publications and presentations at numerous national and international conferences, promoting cutting-edge technology and techniques being performed here in South Florida. He serves as a proctor and teacher, overseeing and training surgeons through these new procedures.

Most recently he has been instrumental in the development of the "SPIDER", a single incision surgical system that allows for scar-less gallbladder removal, an operation he has performed more times than any other surgeon in the world.  He recently joined the new Baptist Health Medical Group and serves as the Director of the General Surgery Division. He is a member of the Operations Committee and chairs one of the principal committees for the Group.