René Favaloro

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René Favaloro
Golden Plate Award (1993), Konex Award (1993)
Signature

René Gerónimo Favaloro (July 12, 1923 – July 29, 2000) was an Argentine cardiac surgeon and educator best known for his pioneering work on coronary artery bypass surgery using the great saphenous vein.

Early life

Favaloro was born in 1923 and raised in La Plata;^[2] his grandparents were Sicilians from the island of Salina.^[3]

The surname Favaloro is derived from the Sicilian word Favaloru, referring to one who grows or sells beans; the term can also be used to denote a scrounger.^[4]

In 1936, Favaloro was admitted into the

In early 1967, Favaloro began to consider the possibility of using the saphenous vein in coronary surgery. He put his ideas into practice for the first time in May of that year. The basic principle was to bypass a diseased (obstructed) segment of a coronary artery in order to deliver blood flow distally. The standardization of this technique, called coronary artery bypass surgery, was the fundamental work of his career, and ensured that his prestige would transcend the limits of his country, as the procedure radically changed the treatment of coronary disease. In 1970, he published one of his best-known volumes, Surgical Treatment of Coronary Arteriosclerosis.

The Favaloro Foundation

Favaloro returned to Argentina in 1971 with the dream of developing a center of excellence similar to the Cleveland Clinic, that combined medical attention, research, and education.^{[citation needed]}

Bearing that in mind, he founded the Fundación Favaloro in 1975 along with several collaborators. He took pride in having trained more than 450 residents from all over Argentina and the Americas. Favaloro contributed to raise the standard level of his specialty for the benefit of patients through innumerable courses, seminars, and conferences organized by the Fundación, among them the distinguished "Cardiology for the Consultant" (Cardiología para el Consultante), held every two years.

In 1980 Favaloro established the "Basic Investigation Laboratory" (Laboratorio de Investigación Básica), which was long financed with his own money and which, at the time, depended upon the support of the Research and Teaching Department of the Fundación Favaloro. Subsequently, it became the Institute of Research in Basic Sciences of the University Institute of Biomedical Sciences (Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Básicas del Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Biomédicas) which in turn, was transformed into the

He kept his emphasis on disease prevention and promoting basic rules of hygiene to reduce mortality rate. With that objective, the Fundación Favaloro researches illness detection and prevention programs. Also, many publications were released by the Centro Editor de la Fundación Favaloro (Publishing Center of the Favaloro Foundation), which ceased to operate in 2000. The Favaloro Foundation is currently one of the largest institutions dedicated to cardiology in the Americas.^{[citation needed]}

Death

By 2000, Argentina was submerged in an economic and political crisis, and the Favaloro Foundation was US$18 million in debt. On repeated occasions, Favaloro petitioned the Argentine government to aid the Foundation, but never received an official response, nor would the director of the PAMI public medical insurance agency, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, agree to pay the agency's debt to the Foundation.^[6] On July 29, 2000, at age 77, Favaloro fatally shot himself in the chest.^[7]

Following his suicide, it was revealed that he had written a letter to Argentine President Fernando de la Rúa, that had never been read, in which he expressed being tired of "being a beggar in his own country," and asked for de la Rúa's help to raise money for the Foundation.

Although his suicide is often linked to the Foundation's financial difficulties, the letter clearly shows Favaloro felt overwhelmed by the corruption of the health system and that he could not fight against it. In the letter, he refers to himself as "Don Quixote" in his lonely battle against the giants. Aggravating this situation was that Favaloro had never recovered from the death of his wife in 1998.^[5] Following her death, he had resolved to marry one of his longtime colleagues and coauthors, Diana Truden; she lived with Favaloro during his final days and was in his Palermo neighborhood house when he committed suicide.^[8]

Recognition and distinctions

In a tribute written shortly after Favaloro's death, fellow heart surgeon

In 2007, he was named the second-greatest Argentine of all time, on the TV show El Gen Argentino.

On July 12, 2019, Google showed a Doodle celebrating what would have been his 96th birthday.^[2]

Favaloro on television

Favaloro participated in educational programming for the public, distinguishing himself in the television series The Great Medical Themes, and in numerous conferences in Argentina and throughout the world on topics such as medicine, education, and modern society. He was also mentioned in the documentary movie Forks Over Knives.

Works

René Favaloro published more than three hundred works in his specialty. Owing to his passion for history, he also wrote two books about General José de San Martín.

• Surgical Treatment of Coronary Arteriosclerosis (1970)
• Recuerdos de un médico rural ("Memories of a rural doctor", 1980)
• ¿Conoce usted a San Martín? ("Do you know San Martín?", 1986)
• La Memoria de Guayaquil ("The memory of Guayaquil" 1991)
• De La Pampa a los Estados Unidos ("From La Pampa to the United States", 1993)
  ISBN 978-9875662902
• Don Pedro y la Educación ("Don Pedro and education", 1994)^[ISBN missing]

References

• This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, which was accessed in the version of 12 March 2005.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to René Favaloro.

Scholia has an author profile for René Favaloro.

• Cardiac Surgery in the Adult: Myocardial Revascularization with Cardiopulmonary Bypass – The history section details Favaloro's role in the development of CABG.
• Favaloro Foundation (Spanish) – Spanish-language page about the investigation of the Fundación Favaloro, with a gallery of images, quotes, and an essay on Favaloro's legacy.
• Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery Thirty Years Later. Some Social Implications.
• Favaloro Foundation
• 50th Anniversary Historical Article: Surgical treatment of acute myocardial infarction. René G. Favaloro. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2000 Apr;35(5 Suppl B):18B-24B. doi: 10.1016/S0735-1097(00)80044-3. Originally published in American Journal of Cardiology, November 1971.