Juan Carlos Parodi (Buenos Aires, August 16, 1942) is an Argentinian
vascular surgeon
Vascular surgery is a surgical subspecialty in which diseases of the vascular system, or arteries, veins and lymphatic circulation, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures and surgical reconstruction. The specialty ...
who introduced the minimally invasive
endovascular aneurysm repair
Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is a type of minimally-invasive endovascular surgery used to treat pathology of the aorta, most commonly an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). When used to treat thoracic aortic disease, the procedure is then spe ...
(EVAR) to the world and performed the first successful endovascular repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm on 7 September 1990 in Buenos Aires.
In 1992 he was the first in the United States to perform
minimally invasive aortic aneurysm surgery (
stent graft
In medicine, a stent is a metal or plastic tube inserted into the lumen of an anatomic vessel or duct to keep the passageway open, and stenting is the placement of a stent. A wide variety of stents are used for different purposes, from expandab ...
procedure) together with Drs.
Frank Veith,
Michael L. Marin
Michael L. Marin is an American vascular surgeon. Together with Drs. Frank Veith, Juan C. Parodi and Claudio J. Schonholz, he was the first in the United States to perform minimally invasive aortic aneurysm surgery (stent-graft procedure). In ...
and
Claudio J. Schonholz
Claudio J. Schonholz (born 1956 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an interventional radiologist, the first in the United States to perform Minimally invasive procedure, minimally invasive aortic aneurysm surgery (Stent, stent graft procedure) together ...
. He continues to develop new techniques, including ''seat belt and air bag'' technique for cerebral protection during carotid stenting. He is recognized as a renowned pioneer in the specialty of
endovascular
Interventional radiology (IR) is a medical specialty that performs various minimally-invasive procedures using medical imaging guidance, such as Fluoroscopy, x-ray fluoroscopy, CT scan, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or ultraso ...
repairs of the
aorta
The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes ...
.
Juan Parodi is also a political activist and defender of measures to alleviate poverty as well as promoter of the concept of responsible procreation and education of the most economically affected sectors in Argentina.
Biography
Juan Parodi was led to a career in surgery through his own interest and family influence - his uncle was a surgeon. In 1960 he began his medical training at the Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina. After receiving an MD degree at the
University of Salvador in 1968, Juan Parodi entered the general surgery residency in the former M. Castex Hospital which he finished in 1972. He did postgraduate fellowship at the
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a Public university, public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus esta ...
and following it did another one at the
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit American academic medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an Ohio nonprofit corporation established in 1921, it runs a 170-acre (69 ha) campus in Cleveland, ...
with emphasis on
vascular surgery
Vascular surgery is a surgical subspecialty in which diseases of the vascular system, or arteries, veins and lymphatic circulation, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures and surgical reconstruction. The specialty ...
. From 1975 to 1976 Parodi served as chief resident at the Cleveland Clinic, where Professor Alfred Humphries and Edwin Beven became two significant mentors in his career. It was during that last year 1976 that he committed all his wits to develop a new minimally invasive surgical technique that would change the future of the then infant specialty of vascular surgery and in particular aortic aneurysm surgery.
The conception of Parodi's new minimally invasive technique started in 1976. It was aimed at excluding an aneurysm using a fabric graft and metal components to affix and seal these elements in position using an endovascular retrograde access. At that time, the term “metal cage with barbs” was used rather than “stent”. The engineering of the first prototypes using elastic wires of stainless steel and the experimental work took place at the Cleveland Clinic, USA.
In 1979 he returned to Argentina where he continued working on the improvement of his minimally invasive surgical techniques. At that time, nobody paid attention to Parodi’s invention, which he continued to research without funding. By the mid 1980s, Parodi was having some success with his new technique in animal experiments. In 1988, Parodi met Argentinian radiologist Julio Palmaz, the inventor of the Palmaz stent, and Parodi began to use Palmaz stents in combination with his endografts on animals. From 1976 to 1990, Parodi did not receive any funding or support for his project.
On 7 September 1990 Parodi made vascular surgery history with the first successful endograft procedure in the world, in the city of Buenos Aires. The first human being to be treated with Parodi’s endograft was fairly high profile – a friend of
Carlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. H ...
, the then President of Argentina also a patient who received an intervención bring presidente with a team of doctora Lije Alejandro Tfeli and Luis de la Fuente. The first device was simple, according to Parodi: ''“It was a graft I designed with expandable ends, the extra-large Palmaz stent, a Teflon sheath with a valve, a wire, and the valvuplasty balloon, which I took from the cardiologists."'' Juan Parodi invited Julio Palmaz to participate in the case at the Instituto Cardiovascular de Buenos Aires. That case was a turning point in the history of vascular surgery, changing the way most patients with aneurysmal disease are treated around the world today.
Despite the high profile of the patient, the procedure had little initial impact on the vascular surgery community because his initial results were rejected by the journal he submitted to. Finally in 1991 through the Annals of Vascular Surgery, the case by Juan C Parodi and Julio Palmaz became the first widely known endovascular repair (EVAR) of the aorta. In October 1992 the first EVAR case in Western Europe was done by Parodi, Claude Mialhe, Claude Amicabile and Claudio Schonholz in Nancy, France. In November 1992 Parodi was the first in the United States to perform minimally invasive aortic aneurysm surgery together with Frank Veith, Michael Marin and Claudio Schonholz. In 1995, the EVAR procedure was published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery. In 2005, Juan Parodi was celebrated as the creator of the Parodi Endograft, "one of the biggest innovations in the history of vascular surgery".
When he became a professor in 1993 at Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, he began traveling throughout the United States and abroad. He was a visiting professor at
Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
and the
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
. He also was an honorary professor at his alma mater, University of Buenos Aires and was a professor of surgery at
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...
and
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
.
He is adjunct surgical research professor, University of Michigan, USA.
In conjunction with the Research Chair at the University of Michigan, he undertook a work on the Argentine demographic growth, evaluating the projection of human quality in the coming years and with this base, he spoke at several conferences, which became very famous for making emphasis on the problems that hit your country hard, such as poverty and the poor education that this sector receives in Argentina.
In 1980, Juan Parodi removed a gangrenous gall bladder from a poor Argentinian priest and did it without any payment. Years later, he found out who that poor priest was,
Jorge Bergoglio
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
. In 2014, Parodi and his wife was invited to visit that priest, now Pope Francis, at the Vatican and to be thanked for caring for another person without compensation.
Awards and others
*2000 Best inventor (Erasmo University of Rotterdam)
*2002 Jacobson Innovation Award (American College of Surgeons).
*2003 Konex Award 2003: Surgery
*2006
Society for Vascular Surgery
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is the major national academic society for vascular surgery in the United States. Its mission includes education, research, career development and advocacy. The SVS is the national advocate for more than 6,00 ...
(SVS) Medal for Innovation - the very first SVS Medal of Innovation.
*2009 Grand Master of Endovascular Surgery.
*2012 Doctor Honoris Cause of Genova University
*2020
Society for Vascular Surgery
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is the major national academic society for vascular surgery in the United States. Its mission includes education, research, career development and advocacy. The SVS is the national advocate for more than 6,00 ...
(SVS) International Lifetime Achievement Award
*2023
Konex Award
Konex Foundation Awards, or simply Konex Awards, are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation honouring Argentine cultural personalities.
History and purpose
Konex Awards are granted by the Konex Foundation, created in 1980 in Argentina. The pur ...
- Special Mention for his career (Konex Fundation in Argentina)
Memberships
*Member of the American Society for Vascular Surgery
*Member of the European Society for Vascular Surgery.
*
Fellow of the American College of Surgeons Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (or FACS) is a professional certification for a medical professional who has passed a set of criteria for education, qualification, and ethics required to join the American College of Surgeons.
''FACS'' ...
.
*Honorary member of the Salvador University of Buenos Aires.
*Honorary member of the German Society of Surgery.
*Honorary member of the Greek Surgery Society.
*Member of the Irish Society of Surgery.
*Member of the Italian Society of Surgery.
*Konex Foundation, Juan Carlos Parodi, Premio Cirugia 2003.
References
External links
"The History of Endovascular Revolution, the role of Vascular Surgeons". The legendary Juan Carlos Parodi gives the John Homans Lecture during the 2015 Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Vascular Annual Meeting in Chicago. Video (31:21 min) published on 21 March 2016 by SVS Vascular.
"Interview with Dr. Juan C. Parodi", SVS History Project. Video (50:34 min) published by SVS Vascular.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parodi, Juan C
1942 births
Living people
American medical academics
American vascular surgeons
University of Buenos Aires alumni
Stanford University faculty
New York University faculty
Academics of the University of London
Academic staff of the University of Tokyo
Wake Forest University faculty
Washington University School of Medicine faculty
Fellows of the American College of Surgeons