Dr. Francisco Couto, a board-certified general surgeon specializing in general and minimally invasive surgery, has joined the Orlando Health Medical Group Surgery, and will be practicing at Orlando Health South Seminole Hospital in Longwood, Florida.

A noted researcher and highly skilled robotic surgeon, Dr. Couto’s areas of interest include abdominal wall reconstruction, hernia surgery, para-esophageal hernia repair, and surgical treatment of gastroesophageal reflux.

He received his medical training from the Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas and completed his residency in surgery at the Hahnemann University Hospital at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. Dr. Couto performed his fellowship in bariatric and advanced gastrointestinal minimally invasive surgery at Greenville Health System at the University of South Carolina College of Medicine.

Fluent in both English and Spanish, Dr. Couto has written extensively on his surgical experiences and practices. Among his articles and presentations are short-term preoperative weight loss and postoperative outcomes in bariatric surgery; the role of robotic assisted surgery in benign esophageal disease; factors affecting salvage rate of infected hernia mesh; and the robotic versus laparoscopic approach to hiatal hernia repair.

Dr. Couto is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Hernia Society, the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, Society of Robotic Surgery and the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.