Miami Hernia Center
We Only Do Hernias
p 305-397-8236
Dr RAFAEL AZUAJE MD FACS MBA
Dr. Azuaje grew up in Venezuela where he attended Universidad Centroccidental in Barquisimeto, and completed a combined Undergraduate and Medical School Program and earned his Medical Degree in 1995. His post-graduate surgical training included an internship and residency in General Surgery at Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, where he was a Chief Resident in 2003-2004. He completed a Fellowship in Minimally Invasive – Advanced Laparo-endoscopic and Bariatric Surgery at the University of Miami in 2005. In 2010, he completed a Physician Executive Master in Business Administration program at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN, and received his MBA degree. He also spent over 2 years working at a prestigious Hernia Center doing exclusively hernias.
During his career he has repaired over 2000 abdominal wall hernias, including inguinal, epigastric, ventral, flank, femoral and umbilical hernias, as well as many complex recurrent and incisional hernias. He also has experience in laparoscopic repair of all types of hernias, also anterior and posterior component separation with and without mesh, pre-peritoneal mesh repairs, retro rectus repair (Rives Stoppa retromuscular repair) and TAR Transversus Abdominus release for large hernias.
Dr. Azuaje is a Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery (Board Certified General Surgeon), a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of The American Hernia Society. He has given many presentations in the field of surgery and was the chief editor of two General Surgery textbooks. Dr Azuaje is fluent in English and Spanish.
PUBLICATIONS
-Azuaje RE, Jacobson LE, Glover J, Gomez GA, Rodman GH, Broadie TA, Simons CJ, Bjerke S: Reliability of Physical Examination as a Predictor of Vascular Injury Following Penetrating Neck Trauma. Journal of Trauma, 51, 1227, 2001(abstract)
-Ranieri JM, Wagner JD, Azuaje RE, Davidson D, Wenk S, Fyffe J, Coleman JJ. Prognostic Importance of Lymph Node Tumor Burden in Melanoma Patients Staged by Sentinel Node Biopsy. Annals of Surgical Oncology, 9(10):975-981. 2002
-Tevar A, Azuaje RE, Rodman GH, Bjerke HS, McCready R, Abdominal Aortic Injury Secondary to Blunt Abdominal Trauma: Case Report and Review of the Literature. Surgical Rounds, 6(26):265-268, 2003.
-Azuaje RE, Tevar A, Sanchez J. Desmoid Tumors. Surgical Rounds, 7(26):329-331, 2003
Azuaje RE, Jacobson LE, Glover J, Gomez GA, Rodman GH, Broadie TA, Simons CJ, Bjerke S: Reliability of Physical Examination as a Predictor of Vascular Injury Following Penetrating Neck Trauma. American Surgeon 69(9):804-807, 2003
-Azuaje RE, Jacobson LE, Gomez GA, Broadie TA, Simons CJ, Stab Wounds of the Flank and Back: Evaluation of a Protocol. Surgical Rounds 11(26):525-530, 2003
-Azuaje RE, Vieira CA. (Editor and Main Author). Pass the ABSITE (American Board of Surgery In-training Exam), W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 10/2002
-Tevar A, Azuaje RE, Micon L (Editor and Main Author) Surgery Review Illustrated. McGraw-Hill. New York, NY 12/2004
-Dunkin B, Ciancio G, Azuaje RE, Martinez J, Bailey R. A Multi-camera view of the Surgeon’s Hand during Hand-assisted Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy. The University of Miami Department of Surgery. Video presentation at the SAGES Annual Meeting April 2005
-Ranieri J, Wagner J, Wiebke E, Azuaje RE, Smith M, Wenck S, Daggy J, Coleman J. Lack of Prognostic Importance of Reverse-Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction Detection of Circulating Messenger RNA in Patients with Melanoma. Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. 115(4):1058-1063, 2005
-Martinez J. Guerrero L. Byers P. Lopez P. Scagnelli T. Azuaje R. Dunkin B. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and gastroduodenoscopy after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Surgical Endoscopy. 20(10):1548-50, 10/2006
-Kramer, R. Azuaje, R. Martinez, J. Dunkin, B. -The Double-wire Technique as an Aid to Selective Cannulation of the Common Bile Duct during Pediatric Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition. 45(4):438-442, 10/2007
-Gilbert, Young, Azuaje R. Overview of Modern Surgical Techniques in Inguinal Hernia Repair. Textbook of Hernia. Springer 2017
-Gilbert, Young, Azuaje R. The Gilbert Bilateral Connected Device (PHS) and other Mesh Repairs. Textbook of Hernia. Springer 2017
-Gilbert, Young, Azuaje R. Gilbert Technique of Inguinal Hernia Repair. Inguinal Hernia Surgery. Springer 2017
Laparoscopic Inguinal Hernia repair by Dr Rafael Azuaje (TEP approach)
Laparoscopic Inguinal Hernia repair by Dr Rafael Azuaje (TAPP approach)