What nationality was Rene Favaloro, known for his pioneering work on bypass surgery?

Favaloro was born in La Plata, province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He studied medicine at the National University of La Plata. He became interested in developments in cardiovascular intervention, and developed an enthusiasm for thoracic surgery. Professor Mainetti pointed him in the direction of the Cleveland Clinic.

At the beginning of 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 in a coronary artery in order to deliver blood flow distally. The standardization of this technique, called bypass or transmyocardial revascularization 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.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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Silvia Levame

By 2000, Argentina was submerged in an economic and political crisis, and the Favaloro Foundation had 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. On July 29, 2000, at age 77, Favaloro fatally shot himself in the chest. 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. Dr Favaloro was a man of great integrity who could not live and work in a corrupt country.