About Platxia
Platxia is located at the Hospital Metropolitano de Santiago (Metropolitan Hospital of Santiago) in the city of Santiago, Dominican Republic. It is a center of advanced medicine at the service of health, with the goal of responding to the needs of integral medical attention of their patients. The health services count with the support of a team of professionals with ample experience and profound vocation, with a high scientific and technological level, under the strictest international standards. Ever since the beginning, the hospital has been known for staying in the front line in regards to technology. This is precisely why it became the first digital hospital in the Dominican Republic, both in medical and administrative functioning. It was the first one in the country to have electronic medical records, with all the advantages that this brings. The hospital has more than 40 medical and surgical specialties, over 177 doctor’s offices, 298 rooms and 28 beds in the intensive care unit (ICU).
About Dr. Castillo Yermenos
Doctor Rafael Castillo Yermenos is a general surgeon who graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, PUCMM, of the city of Santiago, Dominican Republic. He studied Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Instituto Jaliciense de Cirugía Reconstructiva “Dr. José Guerrerosantos” in the city of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Of Dominican nationality, Doctor Castillo Yermenos from a very young age was influenced by medicine. His vocation is born from his admiration for his father, who is also a doctor.
During his training, he did several clerkships. Among these, the most outstanding were the procedures performed with Dr. José Pérez-Gurri and Dr. Onelio García at the prestigious Imagos Institute in the city of Miami, USA. Over the course of this career, Dr. Castillo Yermenos has been known for staying in the vanguard in regards to updated and new technology advances in his field. He has done many courses and attented several congresses. He has international certifications in Basic and Advanced Life Support (BLS and ALS), which are validated by the American Heart Association (AHA). These certifications are important, since they give a doctor, very important knowledge in regards to the urgent care of patients with cardiac arrest. Also, he has a certification in Advance Trauma Life Support (ATLS), which gives him authority in regards to the treatment of polytraumatized patients.
Dr. Castillo Yermenos has also developed skills in microsurgery, which is a discipline that stems from reconstructive surgery, and allows surgeons to perform different procedures with the help of microscopes and precission instruments. By implementing these skills in microsurgery, it is possible to perform a large array of very complex procedures that were once deemed as impossible. Some examples of these surgeries are the transference of tissues from one part of the body to another, as well as there reattachment of severed limbs (replantation), among others. The surgeries that implement this technique could greatly help different types of patients like those in need of breast reconstruction following cancer; patients with muscle paralysis, who may benefit from functioningfree muscle transfer from one part of the body to the affected one; as well as those in need of nerve repair or lymph reconstruction.
One of the Dr. Castillo Yermenos’ biggest features is his charitable spirit. He has participated in surgical procedures from the Operation Smile organization, twice in Mexico. Thanks to this non-profit organization, over 220.000 free surgeries have been performed in children and young adults with cleft lip and palate, as well as other facial deformities, in 60 countries since 1982. In just over 45 minutes, this surgery allows a person who was born with this deformitie, to have a chance for a normal life. During these procedures, Dr. Castillo Yermenos had the blessing of as well as helping these patients, learning valuable lessons from american surgeons about techniques and skills in reconstructive surgery.
“To have the opportunity to make an impactful change in the life of a person, from an aesthetic or reconstructive point of view, is one of the most humane moments in medicine”. Doctor Rafael Castillo Yermenos.
Academic
Doctor in Medicine (MD).
Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra Santiago R.D.
(Pontifical Catholic University “Mother and Teacher”, Santiago, R.D.)
2004-2010
Master in General and Laparoscopic Surgery
Hospital Metropolitano de Santiago (HOMS)
(Metropolitan Hospital of Santiago)
Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra Santiago R.D.
(Pontifical Catholic University “Mother and Teacher”, Santiago, R.D.)
2010-2015
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency
Instituto Jalisciense de Cirugía Reconstructiva “Dr. José Guerrerosantos”
(“Dr. José Guerrerosantos” Jaliciense Institute of Reconstructive Surgery).
2016-2019.
Publications / Scientific Articles
Undergraduate thesis: Knowledge, attitudes and practices about the human papillomavirus in senior students of public and private schools in the City of Santiago, Dom. Rep. May, 2010.
Graduate thesis: Predictive value of the Alvarado Scale versus ecographic findings in the diagnosis of appendicitis, according to histopathological reports. May, 2015.
Graduate thesis: Comparison of the effect of Triamcinolone vs Triamcinolone/5-Fluoracil on the histopathological features of keloids. November, 2018.
