A surgeon operated for free on a grandfather

“Smile, don't be shy,” Carmen says to Geronimo, while  man can't hold his tears of emotion . He lived again. And it's noticeable. Carmen is the surgeon who operated on him for free.

In recent days,  Carmen Nievas carried out a totally free operation and thus helped Gerónimo Guardia. A Sanjuanino grandfather of 86 years of low income to improve his quality of life . Operating room expenses, anesthetic fees, prosthesis (costs 80 thousand pesos) and the surgical center was fully covered by the Cencor Foundation.

“We performed a peripheral  bypass  . In which a PTFE prosthesis skipped an obstruction with a bridge (bypass) and in this way the blood continued to reach the foot. So we were able to avoid amputation,” said the doctor.

 Something new and unique in  San Juan  

 In addition, the patient is getting a transmuscular laser, as   Dr. Nievas is the only health professional who performs it  . “This is a new method that is being used in  medicine . And it's for people who have pain under the knee,” he expanded.

The surgery was done on the lower limb. Surgeon Javier Ferrari from Buenos Aires - vice president of the Argentine  College  of Cardiovascular Surgeons - also participated as an assistant in surgery.

 Carmen studied medicine at the National University of Córdoba.  Then he did his residency in general surgery in Buenos Aires. Then he moved to Brazil where he did a residency in cardiovascular surgery at the Heart Institute of the University of São Paulo. In this place, the first cardiac transplant was done in Latin America. Later, Carmen moved to Europe where he rotated in Germany and France. Now she returned to San Juan and  is the first female cardiovascular surgeon in the province.  

“I would like to receive all the social works. For example Obra Social Province. Since there are many patients who have it and need to be operated, but it is still in Audit,” he said.

 “ We would like to continue collaborating with patients like Geronimo but we need financial help from individuals or companies” 

He added that “Gerónimo owns a vegetable garden and brings me organic vegetables weekly, they are exquisite and I am grateful to them too.”

Grandfather came to the Foundation almost without being able to walk and now enjoys his new life. “I couldn't live with that pain, and the doctor gave me a hope,  she has a very good heart, but there are other doctors with whom you can't even talk to ,” said the father of seven children, grandfather of 40 grandchildren and great-grandfather of 20 great-grandchildren.

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