Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2009. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
CardioPulse Articles
Pioneers in cardiology
René Géronimo Favaloro: a man who dedicated his life and his death to his work
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Performing the first coronary artery bypass graft was just the start of this surgeon's remarkable career. Ingrid Torjesen looks at his life and his legacy.
On 29 July 2000, cardiology lost one of its greatest pioneering surgeons and under the most tragic of circumstances. René Géronimo Favaloro, the man who had performed the world's first coronary artery bypass surgery, the first cardiac transplant in Argentina, and set up one of South America's most prestigious medical institutions committed suicide.
Argentina was going through a very difficult time, which continued to worsen following his death. The country was in the midst of a deep economic and political crisis and the world renowned institution, which Favaloro had set up, was owed millions of dollars. He had written to the Argentinean president Fernando de la Rúa urging him to help, but had received no reply. Fed up having to beg to keep the institution