Six national and international awards were obtained by members of the Trauma and Emergency Surgery Group, General Surgery of the Fundación Valle del Lili during two important academic and scientific conferences held in Cartagena de Indias. The awards recognize the career achievements of its professionals, academic leadership, the training of new generations, and the contribution of its research to knowledge in trauma and emergency surgery.
Six awards that reflect the same commitment: excellence, knowledge and training
La Fundación Valle del Lili celebrates the results achieved by its Trauma and Emergency Surgery Group during the 52nd National Surgical Week Congress of the Colombian Association of Surgery (ACC) and the 38th Pan-American Congress of Trauma, Critical Care and Emergency Surgery of the Pan-American Trauma Society (SPT), held in Cartagena de Indias between August 17 and 21, 2026.
At these events, professionals and researchers from the Foundation received six awards recognizing their career achievements, leadership, training, and research. Beyond each individual award, these accolades reflect an institutional culture that connects patient care with teaching and knowledge generation.
Awards for career achievement and academic leadership
Dr. Carlos Alberto Ordóñez Delgado was honored as a Master of Colombian Surgery 2026 by the Colombian Association of Surgery. This distinction recognizes his outstanding career in surgical practice, teaching, and research. During the Congress, he also delivered the acceptance speech for the Master of Colombian Surgery 2026 award.
Dr. Mónica Bejarano was chosen as the speaker for the 2026 “Rafael Casas Morales” Honorary Conference, an event the Colombian Association of Surgery reserves to recognize Colombian physicians with outstanding careers in surgery, teaching, and research. Her selection also recognizes her work as a researcher and her more than ten years as editor of the Colombian Journal of Surgery.
Dr. José Julián Serna Arbeláez received the Thomas Scalea Award from the Pan-American Trauma Society. The award recognizes, during his first ten years of career, his leadership and dedication in teaching, patient care, research, academic activity, and mentorship.
Research that provides answers to real health problems
The research conducted by the team also played a prominent role. Dr. María Isabel Fernández Gómez won first place in the residents category of the Daniel Ludi Award from the Pan-American Trauma Society for her work, “REBOA in penetrating aortic trauma: redefining classic management strategies.”
The Trauma and Emergency Surgery team Fundación Valle del Lili She also won second place in the 2026 José Félix Patiño Restrepo National Surgical Research Competition, organized by the Colombian Association of Surgery, with the study "Evolution and Sustainability of a Trauma Registry in Southwestern Colombia: Thirteen Years of Follow-up." Presented by Dr. María Isabel Fernández Gómez
Added to these results is the award given to Dr. Helber-Fabián Pérez-Imbachi, in the Original Research category, at the National Surgical Forum on Trauma and Emergency Surgery, with the work entitled “Association between contextual multidimensional poverty and trauma-related hospital mortality: a 10-year analysis of social inequality”.
Why are these awards important for patients?
Each award recognizes something different, but they all share a common thread: the ability of professionals to combine clinical experience, scientific knowledge, teaching, and research. In a university setting, this integration allows the challenges that arise in patient care to also become research questions and opportunities to train new generations of professionals.
These awards not only recognize those who received the distinctions. They also reflect the collective work of the care, academic, administrative, and support teams that make care, research, and education possible at the [institution name]. Fundación Valle del Lili.
An achievement that projects trauma and emergency surgery
For Fundación Valle del LiliThese six awards reinforce the institution's commitment to continue contributing to trauma and emergency surgery in Colombia and the region. The institution congratulates the professionals, researchers, and medical residents who contributed to these achievements and reaffirms its commitment to knowledge-based medicine, education, and excellence.
Trauma surgery is #FVLPride
