He is fellowship-trained in minimally invasive surgery. He received his medical
degree from Upstate Medical University at Syracuse in 1996. He completed his
surgical residency at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA
and went on to specialize in advanced laparoscopic surgery and bariatric surgery
at Washington University School of Medicine at St. Louis. His primary interest
lies in the study of long term weight loss success. He has done research relating
to weight loss outcomes and their prediction after gastric bypass and has presented his results at the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

He also specializes in laparoscopic surgery of gastrointestinal diseases including esophagus, stomach, biliary tract, and colon. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES).

Dr. Rivera is a published author on the topic of laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery and bariatric surgery and has had multiple abstracts accepted by the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and the American College of Surgeons (ACS).