About the surgeon
Dr. José Andrés
Cárdenas Figueroa
Board-certified general and bariatric surgeon in Puerto Vallarta. I operate at two private hospitals, laparoscopically, and I see patients from Mexico, the United States and Canada.
I treat my patients honestly and responsibly. That includes the uncomfortable part of the job: saying no when surgery isn't the answer.
Who operates on you
“I treat my patients’ conditions honestly, ethically and responsibly.”
Dr. José Andrés Cárdenas Figueroa · General and bariatric surgeon
Board-certified by the Mexican Board of General Surgery
Training
Where I trained
I studied medicine and completed my residency in General Surgery at the University of Guadalajara. I then did post-residency high-specialty training (alta especialidad) in Advanced Minimally Invasive Gastrointestinal Surgery at the Autonomous University of Guadalajara — where I trained specifically in complex laparoscopy and bariatric surgery.
Minimally invasive surgery isn't something I added later. It's how I was trained as a surgeon, and advanced laparoscopy isn't something you learn in a weekend course.
Certification
I'm certified by the Mexican Board of General Surgery (Consejo Mexicano de Cirugía General). Certification isn't a one-time title: it's renewed periodically based on surgical activity and continuing education. Whoever you're considering, ask whether their certification is current. It's a fair question.
Memberships
Mexican Association of General Surgery; Mexican College of Obesity and Metabolic Surgery; and the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO), which brings together bariatric surgery societies around the world.
Credentials
Details you can verify
I publish these because you have the right to check them before you get on an operating table. Mexican licenses can be looked up by anyone in the Registro Nacional de Profesionistas.
- Medical license (cédula profesional)
- 11043322
- Specialty license (general surgery)
- 11455493
- Board certification
- Mexican Board of General Surgery (Consejo Mexicano de Cirugía General A.C.)
- Residency
- General Surgery — University of Guadalajara
- High-specialty training
- Advanced Minimally Invasive Gastrointestinal Surgery — Autonomous University of Guadalajara
- Hospitals
- Staff surgeon at Hospital Vallarta Medical Center and Hospital Punta Mita
- Languages
- English and Spanish
How I work
Why I say no
Bariatric surgery has a built-in conflict of interest: every patient who has surgery is income, and every patient who's told no isn't. In a market where some programs approve anyone who can pay, a surgeon's willingness to say no is the most honest signal they can give.
That's why eight specialists review each case before a date is set. It isn't there to make the process more expensive. It's the time it takes to find an undiagnosed heart condition, a relationship with food that needs work first, or an endoscopy finding that changes the right procedure.
Some of the patients I evaluate don't end up having surgery with me. Some because it isn't time yet, others because it never will be. All of them leave with a plan.
And the part you don't see
The operation takes an hour or two. The result is decided in the months that follow. That's why follow-up is included in the price and scheduled before you have surgery — and why I insist on nutrition and psychology. A patient who stops coming to follow-up is a patient at risk, not a patient who's done.
I don't operate alone
The team behind each case
Ana Mariela Madrigal, MSc
Clinical nutrition
Brenda
Psychology
Dr. Juan Martín Chávez
Internal medicine
Dr. Marisol Cuevas
Endocrinology
Dr. Estefanía Quesada
Cardiology
Dr. Alejandro Arreola
Gastroenterology & endoscopy
Dr. David Arias
AnesthesiologyPatient coordination
Travel, insurance & transfersWhere and with whom
This is what working
with this team looks like
Google reviews
What patients say — unedited
every one of them 5 stars
“Highly recommended. A doctor with a great deal of experience who explains everything in such detail that you get the confidence you need before going into the operating room. Thank you for the empathy, care and monitoring during and after surgery.”
Translated from Spanish · original on Google
“Dr. Cárdenas performed laparoscopic surgery on my mother-in-law to remove her gallbladder, which was already badly infected. His prompt care kept it from getting complicated and, thanks to that type of surgery, she recovered quickly. We highly recommend him.”
Translated from Spanish · original on Google
“Attentive and dedicated, very professional and punctual. I'm very satisfied with the care and how quickly everything moved, from the first consultation to the procedure and the post-op visits. I highly recommend him!”
Translated from Spanish · original on Google
Reviews are shown exactly as patients wrote them on Google, translated from Spanish. We don't write, edit or pay for reviews.
Next step
Want me to review your case?
Tell me about it in a couple of lines. A consultation doesn't commit you to surgery.
WhatsApp is free and works with U.S. and Canadian numbers. We're on Central Time (UTC−6) year-round.