Dr. Jorge Martnez Trabal: The Puerto Rican Vascular Surgeon Revolutionizing Blood Clot Treatment with the Hybrid Venous Thrombectomy Procedure

Dr. Jorge Luis Martnez Trabal is the creator of the Hybrid Venous Thrombectomy Procedure, an innovative technique for treating blood clots in the legs; for his discovery, he received the American Venous Forum's Servier Traveling Award.

He describes himself as a man with vision, perseverance, a good leader, and an altruist. He was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico on February 27, 1972.

He currently holds several positions, including the Surgery Residency in Ponce, Puerto Rico; the Presidency of two Corporations, one of which is from the Medical Group of Vascular Surgeons in Puerto Rico; and he is President of the Medical Faculty of the Hospital Episcopal San Lucas Ponce and Professor of the University of Ponce, among others.

His impressive career path complements his work and academic training, as he studied Surgeon at the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara (UAG) and graduated in 1999.

Later, he became a Vascular Surgeon with experience in endovascular therapy of thoracic and abdominal aortic pathology, cerebrovascular interventions, peripheral vascular interventions, thrombolytic therapy for proximal deep vein thrombosis, venous recanalization, and research.

Why did you decide to study this career?
"I wanted to be a doctor because I wanted to have positive interactions with other people, and I understood that this profession put you in direct contact with suffering people, and that I could put myself in a position to help them."

When did you find out you wanted to be a doctor?
"When I was 11 years old, I liked crafts and what I could do with scissors caught my attention; I thought about sewing, I thought about being a hairdresser, until one day I saw a heart surgeon on television, Garcia Rinaldi, and I noticed that while they were interviewing him, he used scissors, and I related it to my taste for crafts that I could do with scissors."

How did you end up at UAG?
"When the time came for me to study Medicine because in order to be a surgeon, you must first be a doctor, there were several schools in Puerto Rico and I did not want to stay in my country, so I searched in the community and within the community, there were many graduates of the UAG and I applied to this university and I came to Mexico."

Which professor impacted your life as a medical student?
"Dr. Francisco Martnez Sandoval was the professor who most impressed me, and I followed his wise advice in the classroom." No one explained the work of a medical student to me as well as he did. He is a major reason for my success as a Medicine student and professional."

He later recalled his group of friends, with whom he shared many things during his time at the Universidad Autonoma, such as studying, meeting, and, most importantly, the mindset of one day becoming successful doctors.

Finally, he told the students, "Get out of the comfort zone, take responsibility for what the profession entails because this is 24/7 of the 365 days of the year until you are at another level and you are not going to reach that level in the next ten years of your life, it is a real commitment."