18 years have passed since the death of Dr. René Favaloro

René Favaloro was an Argentine doctor who obtained professional recognition at national and international level and whose first steps in the profession were in the province of La Pampa

Favaloro arrived at Jacinto Arauz in May 1950 and during his The stay in this south-eastern part of the Pampa has conquered several achievements in health. According to the website of the Favaloro Foundation, the doctor and his brother "created a health center and elevated the social and educational level of the region."

"They managed to virtually eliminate infant mortality in the area, reduce infections in childbirth and malnutrition, organized a live blood bank with donors who were available when they needed it and held community talks in which they provided guidelines for health care, "says the document.the first cardiovascular interventions that began to be practiced in the world led him to leave his 12 years of life as a rural doctor and to go to the Cleveland Clinic in the United States to specialize in the subject.

Favaloro achieved the most extraordinary advancement of his career when he invented bridging, a technique that has changed for still the history of coronary heart disease.The professional discovered this result through his study of the possibilities of using the vein saphenous vein in coronary surgery.

According to data from the Favaloro Foundation itself, between 600,000 and 700,000 bypbades are currently practiced each year. , only in the United States.

René returned to Argentina in 1971 and four years later created the Foundation that bears his name in order to simulate the Cleveland Clinic's experience but in Argentine territory. Thousands of residents from different parts of Latin America have come through and been trained by the Buenos Aires Institution.

A little known aspect of Favaloro was his pbadion for writing and history. He wrote several books about his experiences at Jacinto Arauz in the United States and published two literary works on the figure of José de San Martín: "Do you know San Martín?" (1987) and "The Memory of Guayaquil" (1991)

Overwhelmed by the lack of support from the government and anguished by the countless debts that the Foundation he had founded and without resources to deal with, he decided to commit suicide on July 29 of the year 2000, paradoxically shooting in the heart. He was 77 years old.

Photo: www.todojujuy.com