I graduated in 2004 from the Fundação Faculdade Federal de Ciências Médicas de Porto Alegre, in Brazil. Urology got my interest and, since that time, I have nourished the wish to visit Cleveland Clinic one day, under the influence of professors who always highlighted the relevance of that institution in Urology, when they returned from international meetings.

In 2009, I finally could fulfill that desire by being accepted to do a two-month internship at the Cleveland Clinic. During that brief period, I discovered my true passion within the wide Urology field: Robotic and Laparoscopic Surgery. To my satisfaction, at the end of the internship I was invited to return the following year to join the Cleveland Clinic Robotic Surgery research team, under the guidance of Dr. Stein and Dr. Kaouk, one of the pioneers of this technique in the world. At that time, Robotic Surgery was still taking its first steps in Brazil, while in the US it was already well-stablished.

My wife understood the importance of that opportunity. While she stayed in Brazil, I moved in June 2010 to Cleveland, Ohio, in the Great Lakes region, bordering Canada. Despite the cold and longing for the family, the excitement of the new challenge made the whole year to pass quickly. The performance in the research work has borne fruit: publications in international scientific journals and book chapters on Robotic Surgery, presentations in congresses, and finally, an invitation from Dr. Kaouk to remain on the research team another year, this time with full scholarship. Then I could finally take my wife with me to Cleveland. 

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With support of Dr. Kaouk, I developed an unprecedented robotic surgery tecnique for prostate cancer. 

With this technique our team got an award in a contest of the Endourological Society and in an American Urological Association meeting. Today, it continues to be developed and refined by surgeons in many countries, such as the US, UK, Turkey, and Hong Kong.

After two years of research and passing all USMLE exams required to practice medicine in the US, I then completed two more years of intense  surgical training, obtaining certification in the Advanced Urological Robotic and Laparoscopic Surgery clinical fellowship. and recognition from the Cleveland Clinic for outstanding dedication. I also obtained a full license from the state of Ohio, which allowed me to practice medicine independently in the United States.

In 2013, I received the greatest gift life has ever given me. We were blessed with the birth of our daughter, who came to brighten and warm our home during Cleveland's harsh winter.

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In August 2014, I was hired by University Hospitals and also started as Assistant Professor of Urology at Case Western Reserve University, working for another three years there. This is how, what would be an internship of only two months, ended up becoming a memorable professional and life experience, which lasted more than seven years.

However, with each return on vacation, the longing for the family and Brazil was speaking louder. In addition, the desire to help expand the robotic surgery technique in my home country contributed to the decision to return definitively to Brazil. Today, with great satisfaction, I am back in my homeland and put the knowledge accumulated over these years at the disposal of our people.