Thirty-eight years
of service
in Surgery

Being a surgeon is what he always wanted to be and through strong faith he achieved just that. Thirty-eight years after becoming a surgeon, Dr. Jose Miguel Alvear, keeps close to  his heart thousands of memories and anecdotes from his successful career, one which includes many national and international distinctions.  

There is no economic acknowledgment and no recognition plaque that equals his patients’ gratitude; even those who could not pay their fee keep on remembering and visiting him to express their everlasting gratefulness.

A very uncomplicated and pleasant person, he told us about his fruitful professional career. One month after his graduation as Medical Doctor, he went to the United States, where he did five years specialization in General Surgery at New Mexico University-University of Connecticut and two years sub specialty in Transplantation Surgery in Wayne State University, Michigan.

His professional private practice started in New Mexico, U.S.A. He spearheaded the opening of various units of intensive therapy, digestive endoscopies, transplants and innovations, in all the hospitals where he was part on staff. Because of this, he was chosen as the Medical Society’s State President. He performed the very first forearm implant in the State of New Mexico. He was Chief of Surgery at “McKinley’s General Hospital”, Member of the American College of Surgeons and the American Heart Association, among others.

Back Home

In 1980 he returned to Ecuador and found out there was no history of Transplantation Surgery, that’s why he entirely dedicated himself to General Surgery. He mentions that only now, as of 2007, there is a legislation to use cadaver organs for transplantation.

For many years he taught in the Faculty of Medicine at the Central University of Ecuador in Quito, where he established the Experimental Surgery Department. Also, he was Ad Honoren Surgeon in the Baca Ortiz Children’s Hospital for ten years, where he gathered more surgical experience about esophagus replacement on infants less than one year of age.

He created the statutes that came to form the Ecuadorian Society of Surgery and he organized an international event called “87 Surgery”. Special guests attended this event. He also oversaw the Ecuadorian Academy of Medicine from 2002 to 2004. This entity has existed for 50 years. During his period he published the book “Archivos de la Academia”

The Academy has different activities organized according to their statutes. Every month they organize scientific events, such as conferences, round tables, and interventions on subjects of interest. Nowadays, Dr. Alvear is working as chronicler for the Academy. He is getting together all its historical information in order to publish a reference publication of all its accomplishments.

He remembers, with great pleasure, how in October 2004, Ecuador was chosen for the first time to host a WORLD Congress of the International College of Surgeons.

In this event more than 500 foreign doctors participated and there were 350 presentations, 50 of which were presented by Ecuadorian doctors and along with 8 master conferences that were given.

Another pleasant memory, among many, of his professional activity was when he received in his office the wife and daughter of a patient he had operated on 20 years before in the city of Latacunga and, as a result of that operation, now enjoys very good health.

Doctor Alvear told us he chose his career as a result of a genetic relation with his great-grandfather on his father’s side, Dr. Jose Miguel Alvear Alvarado y Robledo, who was an eminent doctor from Cuenca, famous up to now. He developed important medicines and drugs like the seal for Angina, the cream for Eczemas and Soriasis, which are still sold under the same names.   

 He tells us how his grandfather did all his investigations and studies during the day, and at night, he visited his patients in the hospitals or in his patients’ houses in a horse directed by a lamp in his hand. He and his grandfather are the only doctors in the family.

Vast trajectory

March, 2007