Juan-Carlos Verdeja, M.D., FACS, is a general surgeon and chairman of the operating committee for Baptist Health Medical Group, an organization of more than 180 physicians in multiple specialties closely aligned with Baptist Health South Florida. Dr. Verdeja is chief of surgery and founding president of the medical staff at West Kendall Baptist Hospital. Dr. Verdeja has been in surgical practice for more than two decades and specializes in general, laparoscopic and oncologic surgery. He graduated from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and completed his residency in general surgery at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he was chief resident of the department of surgery. Dr. Verdeja is director of laparoscopy and minimally invasive surgery at Florida International University's Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, and is an associate professor in the school's department of surgery as well as at Nova Southeastern University's College of Allied Health. Dr. Verdeja is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and the National Board of Medical Examiners. He lectures nationally and internationally and is published in more than 50 medical journals. He has been instrumental in the development of advanced laparoscopic surgical techniques and devices.