CMCOEM, A PIONEER OF BARIATRIC SURGERY IN LATIN AMERICA
Rafael Álvarez Cordero, Founder and Honorary President of CMCOEM.
The history of our Association is a history of effort and success. In the 1980s some colleagues became interested in obesity surgery, which was then still regarded as "unscientific". Favorable results led to meetings, courses, and workshops in various Mexican cities. The Mexican Obesity Surgery Association AC was formally founded in the city of Acapulco, Guerrero in 1992.
Our organization has grown thanks to the enthusiasm of the members of its Board and the growing number of surgeons who dedicate their professional activity to performing bariatric surgery of the highest quality. In 2010, the name of the Association was changed to the Mexican College of Surgery for Obesity and Metabolic Diseases A.C.(CMCOEM).
CMCOEM is 29 years old now, and has had its share of achievements: since 1993, it has participated in the drafting of the various Mexican Ministry of Health’s Official Standards on Obesity. Through the creation of the Specialty in Bariatric Surgery, the College now certifies new bariatric surgeons. In 2016, bariatric surgery was officially recognized as an elective treatment for severe obesity. Furthermore, its members’ scientific publications in national and foreign journals are increasingly recognized.
At the international level, in 1995, our association, together with societies from four other countries, founded the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Associated Disorders, IFSO, and organized and held the IFSO World Congress in 1997, as well as the IFSO Latin American Congress in 2007. Year after year, Mexican surgeons have taken part in IFSO/LAC, in sister National Associations in Latin America, and in various international forums with remarkable contributions.
During this pandemic, CMCOEM has remained active, holding sessions, forums, and its annual congress, physically and/or virtually, both locally and internationally. All this confirms that Mexican bariatric surgery, thanks to its leaders and active members, is now at its best.
Dr. José G. Rodríguez Villarreal
President
Dr. José Sergio Verboonen Sotelo
1st Vice President
Dr. Carlos Zerrweck López
2nd Vice President
Dr. Gustavo Ernesto Theurel Vincent
Treasurer
Dr. Luis Cristóbal Zurita Macias Valadez
Sub Treasurer
Dr. Martín Edgardo Rojano Rodríguez
1st Secretary
Dr. Armando Pereyra Talamantes
2nd Secretary
