Renie Guilliod Troconis, M.D.

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Renie Rafael Guilliod Troconis, M.D., is an Anesthesiologist and a Board Certified Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine specialist at UT Southwestern Medical Center, with recognized expertise in the fields of Wound Care, Lymphedema, and Deep-Sea Diving. He joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2016, and leads the Hyperbaric, Diving, Altitude, and Aerospace Medicine team, a state-of-the-art care and academic program within the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine. It is located at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas (THPHD), a long-standing collaborative program between UT Southwestern and Texas Health Resources. He is the Program Director of one of the only 9 ACGME - Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Fellowship Programs in the U.S. (IEEM / UTSW / THPHD). 

Dr. Guilliod earned his medical degree and completed his residency training in Anesthesiology at the Central University of Venezuela. He is one of the first physicians to be fellowship-trained in Hyperbaric and Diving Medicine in the U.S. (University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore 1993 - 1994). He also trained in diving and hyperbaric medicine with the United States Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In 1994, he received recognition as a U.S. Navy Diving Medical Officer, designated as the first civilian foreigner to complete this training, and graduate with honors. Certified as a Bell/Mixed-Gas/Saturation Diver and Supervisor, as well as a Diving Medical Advisory Committee and European Diving Technical Committee (DMAC/EDTC) med level IIb physician, accredited to perform medical evaluations of divers and manage diving accidents. 

Dr. Guilliod was chosen in 1999 as one of the Medical Directors of Divers Alert Network (DAN) and between 2006 and 2008, served as President of the Latin-American Chapter of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society. From 2005 to 2015, he was Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Internal Medicine, and Director of Research of the Division of Hyperbaric Medicine at UT Medical School, Houston. He was in charge of the academic program and led the management of hyperbaric emergencies. His expertise with the care of critically ill patients in hyperbaric chambers was vital to this service, which is only available in a small number of hospital-based hyperbaric oxygen therapy centers.

Dr. Guilliod has made substantial contributions to his fields with an emphasis on the application of improving methods in hyperbaric and diving medicine, as well as in imaging and clinical assessment of lymphatic diseases, focusing on the study of the lymphatic system in post-cancer treatment patients, patients born with lymphedema, and patients with non-healing wounds. He was part of the team that developed the Near-infrared Fluorescence Lymphatic Imaging System (NIRFLI) that permits the visualization of the lymphatic vasculature functioning in real time. His work has allowed the evaluation of anatomical and functional lymphatic abnormalities and their potential treatments, as well as leading to the discovery of several gene mutations and deletions responsible for triggering lymphedema. This will ultimately translate to discoveries toward treatments and better management of lymphedema and non-healing wounds. Dr. Guilliod has also been an investigator for NASA evaluating how mild hypobaric-hypoxia affects human brain function, paralleling the type of environment the astronauts will experience in the next generation of space vehicles.

In 2019, under his direction, the IEEM Hyperbaric Medicine Center received Level 1 Accreditation “with Distinction” from the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Society (UHMS). It is the gold standard and highest honor provided to hyperbaric medicine programs in the U.S, putting them as a part of a select group of outstanding clinical/academic programs with the highest standards of care and patient safety. The coveted “with Distinction” status is only given to the top 4% of hyperbaric medicine centers that are accredited to offer the full scope of services for the hyperbaric patient, including critically ill and mechanically ventilated patients.

In 2020, he was inducted by the Board of Directors of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society as a Fellow in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine (FUHM), and was awarded by the Texas Medical Board with a Conceded Eminence License.