MedValet coordinates orthopedic surgery in Medellín, Colombia, for North American patients. Founded in 2025, we work with a small, deliberately selected medical team of orthopedic surgeons, physiotherapists, and nursing staff. We accompany every patient personally, from the first case review to the first six weeks of recovery back home.
Below is the team behind your journey.
I started MedValet in Medellín in 2025. I'm the person who meets you at the airport, sits with you at every appointment, and answers the WhatsApp line.
Before MedValet, I spent close to ten years in hotels, first in Zürich and then in Cartagena, running front desks and concierge teams. I've lived in Colombia since 2016.
MedValet started as favors. Friends and family kept asking me to organize private medical care here because doing it from abroad was a mess: three quotes that didn't match, nobody to drive them, nobody who spoke both languages in the room. After enough of those, it was a business.
Right now I'm the only Patient Journey Director, so it's me at every appointment. When we add more, they'll be trained to do exactly what I do: go with you, every time.
I speak German, French, English and Spanish. I answer WhatsApp myself, including at 11 PM if it comes to it.
MedValet’s knee replacement pathway is led by Dr. Alejandro Jaramillo and Dr. Paula Sarmiento. Both are specialists in orthopedics and traumatology with advanced knee-focused training, and both operate together from incision to closure on every MedValet knee replacement. Their formal qualifications and more are published on their profiles.
Orthopedic surgeon in Medellín for more than 15 years. Trained at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (2008), with fellowship training in knee and shoulder arthroscopy. He teaches the knee module to orthopedic residents at UPB and has published in Journal of ISAKOS and Arthroscopy Techniques. He'll be your main surgeon for the consultation and both follow-ups.
Orthopedic surgeon with fellowship training in knee surgery (FUCS and Hospital San José, Bogotá, 2012) and an AOSSM Traveling Fellowship in the United States (2015). She operates alongside Dr. Jaramillo on every MedValet case.
Surgery takes a few hours. Recovery takes weeks.
These are the people who are with you for the long part.
Physical therapist since 2008, with advanced training in manual therapy. Lina comes to your apartment from the day after surgery until the day you leave. She's the one who gets you from the walker to the cane.
Physical therapist specialized in recovery after knee surgery. Mariana works with you in Medellín, then on video twice a week for your first six weeks at home, so the person on the screen already knows your knee.
Diana provides in-home nursing care during the recovery window, comes by every day for your blood-thinner injection, bandage changes and medication. If something looks off, she's the one who calls the doctor.
01
We can't promise how your knee will feel in six months. Nobody can. What I can put in writing: which surgeons, which clinic, which implant brands, what's included, what isn't, where you'll stay, and who picks up the phone at 3 AM.
02
Every day is planned before you fly. The shower chair and the cold-therapy machine are in the apartment before you are. You shouldn't ever have to wonder what happens tomorrow.
03
Your Patient Journey Director attends every medical appointment with you. From the first blood test to the clearance to fly: one person knows your whole case, and you never explain it twice.
04
The days around surgery are often harder on the person caring for you than on you. We brief them before you fly, again the day before surgery, and they ride in the ambulance with you afterwards.
Send us your basic information and your knee X-ray. I read it myself, get the surgeon's first opinion once the file is complete, and tell you within 3 to 5 business days whether Medellín is a fit. If it isn't, I'll say so.