Rene Favaloro: 1923-2000: Heart Surgeon Biography - Interest In Medicine Began Early, Returned To Argentina, Clinic Struggled With Financial Difficulty

Rene Favaloro: 1923-2000: Heart surgeon.

Argentine heart surgeon Rene Favaloro made his name in America where, in 1967, he performed the world's first documented heart bypass surgery. Favaloro was a rural doctor in his native Argentina, but became a pioneer of coronary surgery in the United States before returning to his homeland. During his career, he would claim to have performed some 18,000 heart bypass operations. In the end, the state of the Argentinean health system would prove too much for Favaloro. The doctor devoted his life to the provision of free, quality health services there. Increasing frustration and financial desperation led him to take his own life in 2000.