In 1999, the Department of General Surgery at Carolinas Medical Center developed a relationship with the Hospital Mexico in San Jose, Costa Rica, and began rotating fourth-year residents for one month to Costa Rica. Since Costa Rica has one of the highest rates of gastric cancer worldwide, the department is pleased to develop this relationship.

The purpose of this rotation is to offer residents additional experience in the treatment of gastric cancer and in the technical issues relating to gastric resection. The rotation also gives fourth-year residents an opportunity to visit other hospitals in Costa Rica and to gain additional experience in flexible endoscopy, laparoscopic surgery and other techniques offered in San Jose.

This rotation is supervised by Eduardo Flores, M.D., F.A.C.S.