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The Latin American Chapter (IFSO LAC)
Rafael Álvarez Cordero, Natan Zundel

In 1995, when professor Nicola Scopinaro gathered metabolic bariatric surgery (MBS) surgeons to
create the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity (IFSO), two Latin American surgeons
were present: Professor Arthur Garrido from Brazil, and Professor Rafael Álvarez Cordero from
México. MBS surgeons from Latin America organized together to present their surgical experiences
in the early 1960s, and the Sociedade Brasileira de Cirurgía Bariátrica e Metabólica (SBCBM) and the
Mexican College of Bariatric Surgery were created.
In the following years, surgeons from Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, etc., presented their
experiences in General Surgery Congresses. The creation of IFSO-Latin American Chapter
(IFSO-LAC) was proposed and accepted in the IFSO World Congress in Tokyo in 2004 on the
initiative of Arthur Garrido, MBS surgeon from Brazil. The creation of IFSO-LAC was recognized in a
meeting of surgeons and professionals dedicated to MBS during the 1st IFSO-LAC Congress in
Iguazzu, Brazil, March 10, 2005; representatives of 14 Latin American countries were already present
and appointed, for Interim President, Rafael Álvarez Cordero (México). On April 27, 2007, during the
second IFSO-LAC Congress in Cancún México, the first General Assembly was held with
representatives from 18 Latin American countries, who examined and approved their bylaws:

“The Latin American Chapter of the International Federation for the Surgey of Obesity (IFSO-LAC) is
an integral part of the Federation, acting in alignment with its bylaws and other official documents
with special focus and interest in MBS activities in Latin América. The President and Executive
Director, with the support of the Executive Council, General Council, and General Assembly, take
charge of operating the IFSO-LAC.”

Over the next years, 17 individual Latin American Societies were created: Sociedad Argentina de
Cirugía de la Obesidad (SACO), Sociedad Boliviana de Cirugía Comité Cirugía Bariátrica y
Metabólica (SBCCCM), Sociedad Chilena de Cirugía Bariátrica y Metabólica (SCCBM), Asociación
Colombiana de Obesidad y Cirugía Bariátrica (ACOCIB), Sociedad Dominicana de Cirugía Bariátrica
y Metabólica (SODOCIMEB), Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Cirugía Bariátrica y Metabólica (SECBAMET),
Asociación de Cirugía Endoscópica de El Salvador (ACEDES), Asociación de Cirugía Bariátrica y
Metabólica de Guatemala (ACBMG), Honduras Bariatric Surgery Association (HBSA), Asociación
Panameña de Cirugía Bariátrica (APCB), Sociedad Paraguaya de Cirugía Bariátrica y Metabólica
(SPCBM), Asociación Peruana de Cirugía Bariátrica y Obesidad severa (APCBEM), Sociedad
Uruguaya de Cirugía Bariátrica y Metabólica (SUCBM), Venezuelan Society of Obesity Surgery
(SOVCIBAM), as well as the Brazilian and Mexican societies already mentioned.
Most of these societies have common bylaws: Each fellow should have obtained a specialization in
General Surgery, and special training in MBS. Three letters from members of the individual’s MBS
society, a curriculum vitae, and commitment to follow the Ethical Guidelines of surgery are required
to become a fellow/member.

Local, regional, national, and international meetings have created a multilingual IFSO association
with the basic objective of helping people with obesity and related diseases to improve or resolve
their medical conditions. Many surgical techniques have been developed by members of IFSO that
utilize open, laparoscopic, endoscopic, and robotic approaches that enable surgeons to provide
good results for their patients, and to report and discuss positive and complicated outcomes in their
meetings.
In addition, IFSO-LAC has a variety of activities to obtain positive results for patients in the fight
against obesity and its associated disorders. IFSO-LAC coordinates its efforts with other medical
societies specializing in metabolic disease, and collaborates with health ministries to educate
patients and prevent obesity, and IFSO-LAC aligns with companies that aid in this mission by

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