Dr. Ari Salvador Salgado Rodríguez, general surgeon

Training

He completed his medical degree as Médico Cirujano y Partero at the Michoacana University of San Nicolás de Hidalgo (UMSNH). He then obtained his specialty in General Surgery from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) — the training that qualifies a surgeon to operate on the abdomen, the abdominal wall, the digestive tract and soft tissue.

Since 2010 he has committed to continuous training and certification in surgical procedures, with an emphasis on advanced laparoscopy and bariatric surgery. That constant updating is what separates a surgeon still operating with the technique of fifteen years ago from one who adopts what is now better for the patient.

Surgical practice

The practice covers patients of every age, from children to older adults, in emergencies as well as in scheduled operations. That means the same office handles an inguinal hernia that has been waiting for years and an appendicitis that cannot wait six hours.

The four areas of work are general surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, advanced laparoscopy and bariatric surgery. In practice they overlap: a hiatal hernia is repaired laparoscopically, a gastric sleeve is bariatric surgery performed laparoscopically, and a complicated gallbladder can begin as an emergency and end as planned gastrointestinal surgery.

Mission

To treat conditions surgically with skill and warmth, always explaining to patients, in plain and understandable terms, the options available to resolve or improve their condition.

In daily practice that translates into something concrete: that the patient understands the diagnosis, sees their own studies, knows the alternatives and makes the decision with enough information. A signature on a consent form is only worth something if a conversation came first.

Values

Professionalism, responsibility, commitment and honesty. These are the practice's four declared values, and they translate into verifiable behaviour: current technique, real availability before and after the operation, a written quote, and an honest indication even when it means not operating.

The commitment is to remain available to the patient, seeking for each case the best possible surgical treatment. Tijuana receives patients from across Baja California and from San Diego County: consultations run in Spanish and in English, and the operative summary is issued in whichever language each patient's treating physician needs to read.

What a consultation with Dr. Ari Salgado is like

The first consultation devotes most of its time to clinical history and physical examination: abdomen, groins, scars from previous surgery, neck or anal region depending on the complaint. It is that examination that decides whether an ultrasound finding genuinely explains the patient's symptom, or whether it is an incidental finding with nothing to do with it.

The studies are then reviewed on screen, with the patient present. If there is a surgical indication, the technique, the risk, the alternatives, the cost and the prognosis are explained and handed over in writing. And if there is not, that is said with equal clarity, together with a follow-up plan and the signs that would mean coming back sooner.

What you can expect from this consultation

• A General Surgery specialty from UNAM, verifiable against a licence number
• Your studies reviewed on screen, with you in the room
• Diagnosis, alternatives, risks, costs and prognosis in writing
• An honest answer when surgery is not yet indicated
• Surgical emergencies attended 24/7 at (662) 282-1787
• Consultation and reports in Spanish or English