Six doctors from Malaga province are among the best in Spain

Six medical professionals practising in Malaga are among the most highly rated in Spain in different specialisms, according to Doctoralia, the world's largest health platform.

The Doctoralia Awards recognise the work of specialists and medical centres in Spain based on evaluations by their patients, their contribution to the community and the support of fellow professionals. In this awards round some 549 professionals applied for the awards in 36 categories, three more than last year.

This year saw a record number of entries, with Andalucía being the region with the highest number of winners and finalists taking 25% of the total of awards. It was followed by Catalonia with 18% and taking third place on the podium was the region of Madrid with 17%. The prize-winners for Malaga province are as follows:

After three years as a finalist in these awards, this year 2024 Dr Carlos Morales Portillo has won as the best specialist in the section of anaesthesia and pain management.

Specialising in alleviating and transforming the lives of those suffering from chronic or acute pain, his approach combines science, innovation and a deep commitment to patient wellbeing, offering solutions beyond conventional medicine and surgery.

This specialist has led the creation of specialised units in centres such as Hospital Quirón and Hospital Santa Elena. He currently provides online and face-to-face consultations at Clínica Élite Costa del Sol and collaborates with several hospitals in Malaga.

Dr Morales Portillo has become a leader in minimally invasive pain management techniques, using cutting-edge treatments such as laser for herniated discs, radiofrequency, cryoablation, ozone therapy and the latest innovations in regenerative medicine. He performs over 500 medical procedures a year.

For the fourth consecutive year Dr Javier Collado Alcázar from Malaga has won the Doctoralia Awards in the plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery category.

Dr Collado, a medicine graduate from the Autonomous University of Madrid, with a Master's degree in aesthetic medicine and numerous specialist courses behind him, is an expert in facial, breast and gender reassignment surgery. In addition, during his specialisation work he completed his doctoral thesis in collaboration with the University of Malaga, achieving the 'summa cum laude' grade, the highest accolade.

As for his professional experience, he joined Vithas Malaga Hospital in 2018 after numerous hospital stays in prestigious plastic surgery centres in countries such as the United States and Taiwan, where he learned and perfected the latest advances in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.

In addition to his private activity in cosmetic surgery, he actively collaborates in the service of the reconstructive plastic surgery and burns unit at the Carlos Haya Hospital in Malaga, where he also belongs to the gender identity unit as one of its chief surgeons.

Dr Cristina Salazar Ramírez, from Alhaurín de la Torre, has won as the best specialist in sports medicine. She is a sports doctor specialising in the area of cardiac arrhythmias and also supporting high-performance sportsmen and women.

This specialist works on the basis of three basic pillars: one, medical knowledge, above all at a cardiovascular level (she has spent more than 18 years at the Hospital Virgen de la Victoria in Malaga as a specialist in intensive care medicine, responsible for the cardiac stimulation unit and also working in the coronary care unit); secondly, understanding sports athletes and their mentality; thirdly, being a practising sportswoman herself.

Dr Salazar Ramírez specialises in stress tests with ergospirometry to see the functional capacity of the athlete and give advice to the trainer on identifying the areas to work on; transthoracic echocardiogram; electrocardiogram; analytical tests focused on the profile of the athlete; ergogenic supplementation for the endurance athlete (before and during a specific competition objective - for instance, supplementing diet with protein powders); fitness certificates for very demanding endurance races; assessment for the high-level competitive athlete and calculation of resting BMR (basal metabolic rate), HC consumption per hour (what that athlete can consume and use per hour), which helps their nutritionist plan their nutrition and diet, among others.

Dr Juan José Jiménez Ruano appears again in the Doctoralia Awards, this time as a finalist in the angiology and vascular surgery category. The specialist graduated in medicine and surgery from the University of Granada and completed his residency through the MIR at the Hospital Clínico Universitario San Cecilio in Granada.

He has been practising in Malaga for 20 years at the Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Victoria, at the Clínica El Pilar and at the Instituto Vascular Malagueño, where he is the medical director. Dr Jiménez Ruano is a nationally recognised leader in angiology and vascular surgery and an expert in the treatment of varicose veins without surgery, as well as phlebo-aesthetics, vascular ulcers, diabetic foot, venous thrombosis - especially the deep-vein variety, lymphedema and lipedema, among others.

Dr Gustavo Garriga Martina, who has a private practice in Malaga, is a finalist in the speciality of Dermatology. Dedicated to improving the health of his patients' skin, he specialises in juvenile and adult acne, rosacea, melasma, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, dermatological surgery and cosmetic advice, providing a 360-degree comprehensive dermatological and medical approach.

As a result, the dermatologist's treatment options include not only oral or topical (cream) medications, but also cosmetic products from pharmacies or the Zo Skin Health medical cosmetics line, medical or aesthetic procedures such as Co2 laser, botulinum toxin (botox), medical peels or dermatological surgery and Mohs micrographic surgery (a precise surgery to remove high-risk skin cancers), among others.

Dr Susana Pérez Rodríguez from Malaga is one of the leading specialists in gynaecology and obstetrics. A medicine graduate from the University of Malaga, she completed her residency at the Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Victoria in Malaga, obtaining her specialist title in obstetrics and gynaecology. After working as an assistant specialist at the Hospital Virgen de la Victoria, she now focuses her professional work in different specialised centres in Malaga and around the province.

In 2012 she obtained her PhD degree in oncopathology from the University of Malaga. She is currently working on her thesis project on the persistence of the human papilloma virus as well as her Master's in obstetrics and gynaecology with the Spanish Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. Her recent research work includes publications presented at EUROGIN, an international, multidisciplinary medical conference, held in Seville in February of this year.

Dr Pérez Rodríguez specialises in pre-cancerous changes of the cervix, post-menopause, threatened miscarriage and metrorrhagia, among other topics.