The former head of the Vascular Surgery Service of the Toledo Hospital Complex, Manuel Doblas, has just been awarded as 'Distinguished Fellow for 2022' by the American Society of Vascular Surgery (SVS), being the only Spanish doctor to receive such recognition in history of this prestigious medical society.

To be worthy of this recognition, the curriculum, the ten best international publications carried out, of which three are chosen, and having three mentors are valued; that is, already distinguished members of society who recommend the candidate in letters that attest that his educational, research and training work has been excellent.

This year, five North Americans and one Spaniard have been chosen, in this case Manuel Doblas, the first vascular surgeon working in Spain to receive this lofty distinction.

At the annual meeting of the American Society of Vascular Surgery, which will meet in Boston from June 14 to 18, Dr. Doblas will receive the diploma (on June 15). The doctor from Toledo worked in the US for years and is a member of the North American Society of Vascular Surgery. He retired at the age of 65 (he is currently 73 years old) and in 2015 he was appointed vascular surgeon emeritus by the Castilla-La Mancha Health Service (Sescam), for which he continues to collaborate, in his case developing new areas of outpatient surgery and vascular surgery.

The contribution that the former head of the Vascular Surgery Service of the Virgen de la Salud hospital in Toledo, a unit that he himself founded, made to the field of major ambulatory surgery, was fundamental, a technique that allowed operations to be carried out without the need for prolonged hospital stays. hospitals, thus significantly increasing the quality of life of patients and improving hospital management.

Asked, in statements to ABC, what he would particularly highlight about his career, Dr. Doblas pointed out that "I feel very proud to have been the creator, promoter and promoter of the hospital's Vascular Surgery Service", which was born in 1990 when this specialty was separated from general surgery, which was headed by Dr. Bengoechea at the time. Doblas was head of the service until his retirement.

Doblas has treated several generations of people from Toledo in a lifetime dedicated to the Virgen de la Salud Hospital in Toledo. His name appears in the most prestigious vascular surgery journals in the world, he has been invited to innumerable congresses and meetings of the highest level, supervised doctoral theses that won extraordinary prizes, and trained hundreds of young professionals.

He points out that he will dedicate the award to Dr. Gregorio Arquel Sicard (Puerto Rico-1944), one of the most prestigious and well-known vascular surgeons worldwide, who was head of the Department of Vascular Surgery at Washington University in San Luis, where Doblas studied. , who considers him "my great teacher" and "my most important mentor".