Dr. Nestor Villamizar
Thoracic SurgeonThoracic surgeon Dr. Nestor Villamizar has raised the level of treatment for patients with pleural mesothelioma at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Miami Health System.
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Sylvester Cancer Center at University of Miami Miami, Florida (FL)
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Primary Location:Sylvester Cancer Center at University of Miami -
Expertise:Pleurectomy and Decortication
Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery -
Speciality:Cardiothoracic Surgery -
Gender:Male -
Language:English, Spanish, French -
Med School:Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Facultad de Medicina
Get to Know Dr. Nestor Villamizar
Dr. Nestor Villamizar joined the University of Miami Health System in 2014, bringing the surgical expertise he honed at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where he worked closely with renowned surgeon Dr. David Sugarbaker.
Villamizar has built a similar mesothelioma program in South Florida, providing the same kind of multidisciplinary care in Miami that patients in the past had found only by traveling to Boston.
“What we hoped to replicate here was the best of the best,” he said. “We’re doing a lot of things now that we brought from Boston. We want the patients in Florida to have the opportunity to stay close to home and get the same great care.”
Villamizar performs the aggressive pleurectomy and decortication surgery often needed for pleural mesothelioma treatment, but he also has expertise in robotic-assisted, minimally invasive procedures for esophageal and mediastinal resections.
He is director of the Lung Cancer Screening Clinic in Miami. The clinic is designed to provide a much-earlier diagnosis of disease, giving patients a better chance of surviving with less-invasive surgery.
Specialties of Dr. Nestor Villamizar
- Pleural mesothelioma
- Pleurectomy and decortication surgery
- Lung cancer
- Esophageal and mediastinal resection
- Minimally invasive robotic surgery
- Thoracic outlet syndrome
Dr. Nestor Villamizar’s Experience and Medical Education
- University of Miami Health System
- Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Fellowships)
- Duke University Medical Center (Residency)
- Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Facultad de Medicina, Bogota, Colombia (M.D.)
Dr. Nestor Villamizar’s Awards and Certifications
- American Board of Thoracic Surgery
- Thoracic and cardiac surgery
- Patients’ Choice Award
Testimonials for Dr. Nestor Villamizar
Rolando L. was one of Villamizar’s mesothelioma patients early in 2015 at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. His last name is being withheld to protect his privacy.
Rolando, a former policeman in Miami, underwent an aggressive pleurectomy and decortication surgery that lasted more than 13 hours. It was a surgery that wasn’t done at Sylvester before Villamizar arrived.
By the end of the summer, after completing chemotherapy and radiation treatment, Rolando was riding his motorcycle across the country to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. It was his victory lap.
“I found what I needed right here in Miami. God sent me to Dr. Villamizar and his team,” he said. “I can’t imagine there is a better place. They did a hell of a job saving my life.”
Publications of Dr. Nestor Villamizar
- Razi, S.S. et al. (2020, June 1). Lobectomy does not confer survival advantage over segmentectomy for non-small cell lung cancer with unsuspected nodal disease. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.
- Razi, S.S. et al. (2019, February 7). Minimally invasive segmentectomy for early stage lung cancer gains momentum. Annals of Translational Medicine.
- Villamizar, N. et al. (2010, December 14). Reproducibility of Left Atrial Ablation with High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Energy in a Calf Model. Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery.
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