René Géronimo Favaloro : pioneer of Cardiac Surgery

Abstract

Dr. René G. Favaloro moved to the Cleveland Clinic in 1962 and proceeded to reshape the face of cardiac surgery as we knew it. Together with his colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic, Drs. Effler, Sones, Proudfit, Groves, Sheldon and countless others, he contributed to the double internal mammary arterymyocardial implantation by the Vineberg method, and by May 1967, he reconstructed the right coronary artery by the saphenous vein graft interposition. These landmark procedures paved the way for the aorto-coronary saphenous vein bypass graft in October 1967. Many similar breakthroughs ensued, with the application of the bypass technique to the left coronary artery, the combination of coronary artery bypass graft with left ventricular reconstruction and valve repair/replacement and finally, by December, a double bypass to the right coronary artery and anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery. In June, 1971, Dr. Favaloro decided to leave the Cleveland Clinic and return to Argentina where he created a medical centre, a teaching unit, a research department and finally an Institute of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery. This was his greatest personal ambition. Over and above his brilliant mind and craft, Dr. Favaloro was a man of integrity, courage, honesty and humility, whose name will never cease to reverberate throughout the history of medicine.