Dr. Leonardo Claros
Dr. Claros serves as the Medical Director of Metabolic and Bariatric Services for the Weight Management Center at Saint Luke’s University Health Network, a designated Bariatric Center of Excellence by the MBSAQIP (Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program) in the Lehigh Valley, PA.
He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS), a Fellow of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (FASMBS), a designated bariatric surgery center of excellence surgeon and is board certified by the American Board of Surgery (ABS).
Dr. Claros went to medical school at UMSA in La Paz, Bolivia. One of the traditional and most prestigious medical schools in the country. He graduated first in his class and was awarded the intern of the year during his internship at Saint Gabriel’s Hospital. He subsequently did a research fellowship in basic science at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and was accepted for his surgical residency training at the Harvard University affiliated hospitals doing his surgical internship at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston, MA.
He completed a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery and bariatrics at the Tufts-New England Medical Center(NEMC) program under the mentorship of Dr. Scott Shikora, Michael Tarnoff and Julie Kim.
Currently, Dr. Claros has performed over 4,000 bariatric cases with excellent results that rank him consistently among the best surgeons in the country.
He was the first surgeon in the entire Lehigh Valley to perform a robotically assisted Gastric Bypass and Sleeve Gastrectomy. He offers many surgical options including laparoscopic gastric band placement, sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, duodenal switches, robotically assisted bariatric operations, revision surgery,diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic proceduresas well as innovative approaches as the single incision surgery enhancing cosmetics results for patients that qualify for that technique.
He is currently actively involved in clinical research and academic teaching, a passion that he has developed over the years having received multiple teaching awards.
Dr. Claros is fluent in English and Spanish and is willing to work with international patients to offer them his expertise in the bariatric surgery field.
Education
Dr. Claros went to medical school at UMSA in La Paz, Bolivia. One of the traditional and most prestigious medical schools in the country. He graduated first in his class and was awarded the intern of the year during his internship at Saint Gabriel’s Hospital. He subsequently did a research fellowship in basic science at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and was accepted for his surgical residency training at the Harvard University affiliated hospitals doing his surgical internship at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston, MA. He completed a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery and bariatrics at the Tufts-New England Medical Center (NEMC) program under the mentorship of Dr. Scott Shikora, Michael Tarnoff and Julie Kim.
Awards
Dr. Leonardo Claros graduated first in his medical school and was awarded intern of the year at Saint Gabriel’s Hospital in La Paz, Bolivia.
He was named Top Surgeon in guide to America’s Top Surgeons; Consumer Research Council of America, 2007 edition.
He is the winner of Excellence in Teaching awards from Both Harvard and Tufts medical schools in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Also, he received an outstanding Faculty Teacher Award at Saint Luke’s University and Health Network in 2012.
