Biography

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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.

Education

Internship
Hospital Dr. Jose Maria Vargas, Instituto Venezolano de Serguros Sociales IVSS. Venezuela (1992), Rotating
Medical School
Luis Razetti Medical School, Universidad Central de Venezuela (1992)
Fellowship
University of Maryland Medical Center (1994), Hyperbaric Medicine
Residency
Universidad Central de Venezuela (2004), Anesthesiology

Research Interest

  • Endothelium
  • Environmental Medicine
  • Hypoxia/Hyperoxia
  • Ischemic/Reperfusion Injury
  • Lymphatic System
  • Oxidative Stress

Publications

Featured Publications LegendFeatured Publications

A phase 2B randomised trial of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for ulcerative colitis patients hospitalised for moderate to severe flares.
Dulai PS, Raffals LE, Hudesman D, Chiorean M, Cross R, Ahmed T, Winter M, Chang S, Fudman D, Sadler C, Chiu EL, Ross FL, Toups G, Murad MH, Sethuraman K, Holm JR, Guilliod R, Levine B, Buckey JC, Siegel CA, Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2020 09 52 6 955-963
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Sports Musculoskeletal Injuries.
Moghadam N, Hieda M, Ramey L, Levine BD, Guilliod R, Med Sci Sports Exerc 2019 Dec
Discussion: An Update on the Appropriate Role for Hyperbaric Oxygen: Indications and Evidence.
Guilliod RR, Pompeo MQ Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 2016 Sep 138 3 Suppl 117S-8S
A novel mutation in CELSR1 is associated with hereditary lymphedema.
Gonzalez-Garay ML, Aldrich MB, Rasmussen JC, Guilliod R, Lapinski PE, King PD, Sevick-Muraca EM Vascular cell 2016 8 1
Near-infrared fluorescence lymphatic imaging in a patient treated for venous occlusion.
Rasmussen JC, Aldrich MB, Guilliod R, Fife CE, O'Donnell TF, Sevick-Muraca EM J Vasc Surg Cases 2015 Sep 1 3 201-204
Real-Time Visualization of Lymphatic Dysfunction in Venous Ulcer Patients.
Sevick-Muraca E, Maus EA, Guilliod R, Rasmussen JC, Tan I, Aldrich MB, Fife CE, J Vasc Surg Venous Lymphat Disord 2015 Jan 3 1 127
An abnormal lymphatic phenotype is associated with subcutaneous adipose tissue deposits in Dercum's disease.
Rasmussen JC, Herbst KL, Aldrich MB, Darne CD, Tan IC, Zhu B, Guilliod R, Fife CE, Maus EA, Sevick-Muraca EM Obesity (Silver Spring) 2014 Oct 22 10 2186-92
Investigational lymphatic imaging at the bedside in a pediatric postoperative chylothorax patient.
Tan IC, Balaguru D, Rasmussen JC, Guilliod R, Bricker JT, Douglas WI, Sevick-Muraca EM Pediatr Cardiol 2014 Oct 35 7 1295-300
Evidence for SH2 domain-containing 5'-inositol phosphatase-2 (SHIP2) contributing to a lymphatic dysfunction.
Agollah GD, Gonzalez-Garay ML, Rasmussen JC, Tan IC, Aldrich MB, Darne C, Fife CE, Guilliod R, Maus EA, King PD, Sevick-Muraca EM PLoS ONE 2014 9 11 e112548
Lymphatic abnormalities are associated with RASA1 gene mutations in mouse and man.
Burrows PE, Gonzalez-Garay ML, Rasmussen JC, Aldrich MB, Guilliod R, Maus EA, Fife CE, Kwon S, Lapinski PE, King PD, Sevick-Muraca EM Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2013 May 110 21 8621-6

Honors & Awards

  • 1994 - US Navy “Never Given up Special Recognition: Welcome to the US Navy Diving Medical Officer Family”. First civilian foreigner to complete this training and graduating with honors. U.S. Navy Diving Medical Officer Course. Department of the Navy
  • 2020 - Inducted as a Fellow in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine (FUHM) of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society
  • 2020 Conceded Eminence License. Texas Medical Board

Professional Associations/Affiliations

  • Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (2006)
  • National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology (1994)
  • National Lymphedema Network (2010)
  • Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (1993)