Meet the Doctors
Faculty and Advisors
Cesar Santiago, MD, FACS, FASCRS
Medical Director | Santiago Surgical Advisors
Cesar Santiago, MD, FACS, FASCRS, is the Medical Director of Santiago Surgical Advisors, PLLC, and a board-certified colon and rectal surgeon with extensive experience in robotic and minimally invasive surgery, surgical education, and physician mentorship.
A defining part of Dr. Santiago’s career has been his commitment to advancing robotic surgery through surgeon-to-surgeon education. From 2012 through 2021, Dr. Santiago served as an Epicenter Surgeon for Intuitive Surgical, playing a role in the education and training of surgeons as robotic surgery expanded across the United States and internationally.
As an Epicenter Surgeon, Dr. Santiago helped other surgeons develop their robotic surgical skills through observation, hands-on education, case-based learning, proctoring, and the sharing of surgical techniques and best practices. His work extended well beyond the United States, with international surgeon education and training across Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Australia, Dubai, and Puerto Rico.
Over nearly a decade in this role, Dr. Santiago gained firsthand experience in something that remains central to his work today: new surgical technology reaches its full potential only when surgeons have access to experienced mentors, meaningful education, and continued support.
Dr. Santiago has lectured and proctored robotic procedures around the world and has developed a reputation as a global lecturer, surgical educator, and key opinion leader in robotic surgery. His experience training physicians across different institutions, healthcare environments, and geographic regions now helps inform the mission of Santiago Surgical Advisors and its work in teleproctoring, telementoring, surgical coaching, clinical education, and robotic program development.
Clinically, Dr. Santiago specializes in colon and rectal surgery, including the treatment of colon and rectal cancer, polyps, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and pelvic floor disorders. He has extensive experience utilizing advanced robotic and minimally invasive surgical approaches in the treatment of colorectal disease.
Originally from Puerto Rico, Dr. Santiago earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his medical degree from the Ponce School of Medicine. He completed his general surgery residency at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Manhattan followed by fellowship training in colon and rectal surgery at the University of Miami.
Throughout his career, Dr. Santiago has also held multiple medical leadership positions, including Medical Directorships at the Center for Advanced Robotic Surgery in Tampa, Florida; Sarah Cannon Research Institute and Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee; Digestive Disease Network Lower GI Malignancies at Baptist Health System in San Antonio, Texas; and South Texas Colorectal Center in New Braunfels, Texas.
Today, through Santiago Surgical Advisors, Dr. Santiago is building upon decades of clinical, educational, and leadership experience to help surgeons, healthcare systems, and surgical technology companies advance the way surgical expertise is taught, shared, and scaled.
His philosophy is straightforward: expertise should not be limited by geography, and surgical development should not end when formal training does.
Professor Rodolfo J. Oviedo, MD, FACS, FRCS, FICS, FASMBS, DABS-FPDMBS
Professor Rodolfo J. Oviedo is the CEO and Founder of Surgical Excellence Academy (SEA), a global academic institution dedicated to advancing surgical education through innovation, mentorship, and simulation-based training. SEA is an official academic partner of TROGSS – The Robotic Global Surgical Society, where Dr. Oviedo also serves as CEO.
Dr. Oviedo earned his medical degree from The University of Texas at San Antonio and completed his General Surgery Residency at Houston Methodist Hospital. He later pursued an Advanced Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gastrointestinal at Baptist Hospital of Miami, where he further developed his expertise as a robotic surgeon.
He is a board-certified, fellowship-trained general and metabolic surgeon. His clinical and academic interests include robotic metabolic and bariatric surgery, abdominal wall reconstruction, anti-reflux surgery, and interventional bariatric endoscopy.
Dr. Oviedo is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the Royal College of Surgeons, the International College of Surgeons, and the American Society for Metabolic Surgery. He is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery with a Focused Practice Designation in Metabolic Surgery.
He actively serves on multiple committees for ASMBS, SAGES, ICS, and TROGSS, and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. He is Deputy Editor of the Journal of Robotic Surgery and Associate Editor of Obesity Surgery, the official journal of IFSO.
Dr. Oviedo currently serves as Medical Director of Bariatric Surgical Services and the Robotics Program, as well as Vice Chief of Medical Staff at Nacogdoches Medical Center in Texas, USA. He is also a Clinical Professor at the University of Houston Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine and at Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
He is honored to serve as CEO and Founder of Surgical Excellence Academy (SEA), CEO of TROGSS, and Chair of the Global Surgery Specialty Group of the International College of Surgeons (US Section), continuing his commitment to advancing surgical education worldwide.
Professor Rodolfo J. Oviedo, MD, FACS, FRCS, FICS, FASMBS, DABS-FPDMBS
Professor Rodolfo J. Oviedo is the CEO and Founder of Surgical Excellence Academy (SEA), a global academic institution dedicated to advancing surgical education through innovation, mentorship, and simulation-based training. SEA is an official academic partner of TROGSS – The Robotic Global Surgical Society, where Dr. Oviedo also serves as CEO.
Dr. Oviedo earned his medical degree from The University of Texas at San Antonio and completed his General Surgery Residency at Houston Methodist Hospital. He later pursued an Advanced Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gastrointestinal at Baptist Hospital of Miami, where he further developed his expertise as a robotic surgeon.
He is a board-certified, fellowship-trained general and metabolic surgeon. His clinical and academic interests include robotic metabolic and bariatric surgery, abdominal wall reconstruction, anti-reflux surgery, and interventional bariatric endoscopy.
Dr. Oviedo is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the Royal College of Surgeons, the International College of Surgeons, and the American Society for Metabolic Surgery. He is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery with a Focused Practice Designation in Metabolic Surgery.
He actively serves on multiple committees for ASMBS, SAGES, ICS, and TROGSS, and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. He is Deputy Editor of the Journal of Robotic Surgery and Associate Editor of Obesity Surgery, the official journal of IFSO.
Dr. Oviedo currently serves as Medical Director of Bariatric Surgical Services and the Robotics Program, as well as Vice Chief of Medical Staff at Nacogdoches Medical Center in Texas, USA. He is also a Clinical Professor at the University of Houston Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine and at Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
He is honored to serve as CEO and Founder of Surgical Excellence Academy (SEA), CEO of TROGSS, and Chair of the Global Surgery Specialty Group of the International College of Surgeons (US Section), continuing his commitment to advancing surgical education worldwide.
Cesar Santiago, MD, FACS, FASCRS
Medical Director | Santiago Surgical Advisors
Cesar Santiago, MD, FACS, FASCRS, is the Medical Director of Santiago Surgical Advisors, PLLC, and a board-certified colon and rectal surgeon with extensive experience in robotic and minimally invasive surgery, surgical education, and physician mentorship.
A defining part of Dr. Santiago’s career has been his commitment to advancing robotic surgery through surgeon-to-surgeon education. From 2012 through 2021, Dr. Santiago served as an Epicenter Surgeon for Intuitive Surgical, playing a role in the education and training of surgeons as robotic surgery expanded across the United States and internationally.
As an Epicenter Surgeon, Dr. Santiago helped other surgeons develop their robotic surgical skills through observation, hands-on education, case-based learning, proctoring, and the sharing of surgical techniques and best practices. His work extended well beyond the United States, with international surgeon education and training across Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Australia, Dubai, and Puerto Rico.
Over nearly a decade in this role, Dr. Santiago gained firsthand experience in something that remains central to his work today: new surgical technology reaches its full potential only when surgeons have access to experienced mentors, meaningful education, and continued support.
Dr. Santiago has lectured and proctored robotic procedures around the world and has developed a reputation as a global lecturer, surgical educator, and key opinion leader in robotic surgery. His experience training physicians across different institutions, healthcare environments, and geographic regions now helps inform the mission of Santiago Surgical Advisors and its work in teleproctoring, telementoring, surgical coaching, clinical education, and robotic program development.
Clinically, Dr. Santiago specializes in colon and rectal surgery, including the treatment of colon and rectal cancer, polyps, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and pelvic floor disorders. He has extensive experience utilizing advanced robotic and minimally invasive surgical approaches in the treatment of colorectal disease.
Originally from Puerto Rico, Dr. Santiago earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his medical degree from the Ponce School of Medicine. He completed his general surgery residency at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Manhattan followed by fellowship training in colon and rectal surgery at the University of Miami.
Throughout his career, Dr. Santiago has also held multiple medical leadership positions, including Medical Directorships at the Center for Advanced Robotic Surgery in Tampa, Florida; Sarah Cannon Research Institute and Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee; Digestive Disease Network Lower GI Malignancies at Baptist Health System in San Antonio, Texas; and South Texas Colorectal Center in New Braunfels, Texas.
Today, through Santiago Surgical Advisors, Dr. Santiago is building upon decades of clinical, educational, and leadership experience to help surgeons, healthcare systems, and surgical technology companies advance the way surgical expertise is taught, shared, and scaled.
His philosophy is straightforward: expertise should not be limited by geography, and surgical development should not end when formal training does.