René Favaloro’s 96th birthday: Pioneering doctor who introduced heart bypass surgery celebrated in Google Doodle
Dr René Favaloro has been honoured with a Google Doodle on what would have been his 96th birthday.
The Argentine cardiac surgeon, who died aged 77 in 2000, is best known for his pioneering work in the field of coronary artery bypass surgery.
The son of a carpenter and dressmaker, he was born in La Plata in Buenos Aires province in 1923 and graduated with a medical degree from the National University of La Plata in 1949.
After 12 years as a country doctor in Argentina, he moved to the United States in 1962.
Ex-patriot
It was in the US, at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, that Dr Favaloro achieved his greatest acclaim.
In 1967, he performed an operation on a patient to avert a potentially fatal coronary artery blockage.
The bypass saw his using a vein from the patient’s leg to divert the blood flow around the blockage.
When the unknown Dr Favaloro received widespread recognition for the procedure, two other, more prominent, surgeons said they had already carried out the same operation.
Nonetheless, the Argentine’s renown was assured.
The Favaloro Foundation
Dr Favaloro returned to his homeland in 1971 where, four years later, he co-founded the Fundacion Favaloro teaching school.
He trained 450 students at the institution, which specialised in medical care, training and research.
Two years after the death of his beloved wife in 1998, Dr Favaloro committed suicide on July 29, 2000.
