Dr. Ricardo Pablo Paredes

Dr. Ricardo Pablo Paredes is a pulmonologist with over 15 years of clinical experience in respiratory medicine, practicing at Hospital Maciel — one of Montevideo's established public hospitals — in Uruguay's capital. Uruguay has one of the highest adult smoking rates in South America historically, making COPD and smoking-related lung disease a significant public health burden. Dr. Paredes manages the full spectrum of respiratory medicine relevant to the Uruguayan population, including obstructive lung disease, pleural conditions, sleep-disordered breathing, and respiratory infections including tuberculosis — which Uruguay manages as part of its national TB elimination programme. As a pulmonologist in Uruguay's universal healthcare system, he serves patients through both ASSE (the national public health administration) and Uruguay's private mutualista insurance system, providing equitable access to respiratory specialist care across socioeconomic groups. He participates in Uruguay's national respiratory disease education and prevention programs.

Dr. Paredes earned his Doctor en Medicina from the Facultad de Medicina of the Universidad de la República (UdelaR) — Uruguay's national public university and the sole institution awarding the national medical degree in Uruguay. He completed his specialty training in pulmonology (Neumología) through UdelaR's formal postgraduate specialist program, which involves three years of supervised clinical rotations in respiratory medicine including spirometry interpretation, bronchoscopy, chest imaging, pleural procedures, and pulmonary function testing. He passed Uruguay's national specialty examination to receive his Especialista en Neumología designation. He additionally obtained a Certificate in Respiratory Sleep Medicine through the Sociedad Uruguaya de Neumología (SUN) — Uruguay's national respiratory professional society — covering diagnosis and management of obstructive sleep apnea and other sleep-disordered breathing conditions, including CPAP titration and follow-up.

Dr. Paredes' pulmonology practice covers the principal respiratory diseases encountered in Uruguay. COPD management is a core focus — he implements guideline-directed therapy including bronchodilator optimization (LABAs, LAMAs, ICS), smoking cessation counselling, pulmonary rehabilitation referral, and management of acute exacerbations. Asthma management across all severity levels, including difficult-to-treat and severe asthma with consideration of biologic therapy, is another component of his practice. In pleural disease, he performs diagnostic and therapeutic thoracentesis, pleural fluid analysis, and where required, chest tube insertion and medical pleurodesis for malignant effusions. Respiratory sleep medicine encompasses diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea through overnight polysomnography or home sleep testing, CPAP initiation and adherence monitoring, and management of obesity hypoventilation syndrome. Pulmonary tuberculosis management — including adherence to directly observed therapy (DOT) protocols and management of latent TB — is part of his practice within Uruguay's TB control program.

Uruguay's healthcare system is highly regarded in Latin America for its quality and organization, and Montevideo's private pulmonology clinics serve regional patients from Argentina, Brazil, and beyond. Hospital Maciel provides public hospital pulmonology services accessible to all patients including foreign nationals. Private mutualista clinics in Montevideo offer pulmonology consultations with shorter wait times for international patients. Uruguay has good connectivity from Buenos Aires (a short ferry or flight across the River Plate), from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and from regional South American cities. The country is Spanish-speaking, and the private healthcare sector in Montevideo has English-capable staff in some facilities. Dr. Paredes has medical English capability for communication with international patients. Second-opinion consultations by telemedicine can also be arranged.

Dr. Paredes has been recognized within Uruguay's pulmonology community through his active participation in the Sociedad Uruguaya de Neumología (SUN) — the national professional body for respiratory medicine specialists. His additional certification in respiratory sleep medicine reflects specialty expansion aligned with the growing clinical demand for OSA diagnosis and management in Uruguay's aging population. He has contributed to SUN's continuing medical education activities and has participated in regional Latin American respiratory medicine meetings, including those of the Asociación Latinoamericana del Tórax (ALAT), reflecting professional engagement with the broader regional respiratory medicine community.