Dr Rivas was born in Durango, Mexico. The eldest of four, he was raised in a surgical environment, assisting his father, a General Surgeon, since an early age while in High School. He attended Medical School at the Universidad Juarez del Estado de Durango (UJED). After graduating with honors and top of his class, Dr Rivas moved to the United States and attained a five-year Residency in General Surgery at the University of North Dakota. While there, he met Jenifer, whom he would later marry. Following his residency, he completed a one-year Fellowship in Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery with emphasis in Bariatric Surgery at the University of Louisville, in Louisville, Kentucky. Part of the fellowship year took Dr Rivas to Brisbane, Australia for a month-long rotation. Afterward, he accomplished a second one-year fellowship in Barcelona, Spain for Minimally Invasive Digestive Surgery at the Hospital Clinic affiliated to the Universitat de Barcelona. He trained extensively with Laparoscopic Pioneers while in Europe, in places other than Spain such as Scotland, Germany, and France. Upon completion of his training, he moved back to Durango, Mexico, where he practiced with his father and a brother, a Gynecologist. He was also Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery at the Hospital de la Paz and Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology of the UJED. Dr Rivas recently moved to Dallas to establish roots and to strengthen the leadership of Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. One of his goals is to be an advocate of the large Hispanic population and other minorities of North Texas. Also, he maintains an extensive academic network built during his travels, and often welcomes invited visiting surgeons and students to his practice. Dr. Rivas has recently obtained a Masters in Business Administration (MBA)from the Southern Methodist University, Edwin Cox School of Business. Among several goals, he would like to become a link between Biotech companies, advanced surgical technologies and Health care providers and administrators. Also he is quite interested in Health policy, and Global Health.
