The field of health in our country is made up of thousands of men and women who offer their best effort every day. The role of each one is essential to care for patients and solve their ailments. Some have been pioneers within a specific area and have paved the way for generations to come. A clear example is the one that is considered as the “father” of pancreas surgery in Mexico.
In this case we refer to the Dr. Manuel Campuzano Fernandez, who is remembered as one of the brightest minds of recent decades in our country. After an extensive career in which he won multiple awards, he died at the age of 97 from natural causes. Since the news was released, multiple institutions have shown their condolences for this tragic event.
The Ministry of Health regrets the sensitive death of Dr. Manuel Campuzano Fernández, former Director of the @incmnszmx
Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/byPlzCHK1o
– HEALTH Mexico (@SSalud_mx) April 16, 2022
Studies and training
Dr. Campuzano carried out his professional studies from 1943 to 1948 at the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He received a Master’s degree in gastroenterology in this same institution. Later it was Resident of Surgery at the Hospital for Nutritional Diseases in Mexicowith a fellow in General Surgery, at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA
Teaching and Administrative Charges
He served as full professor, assistant, associate or visiting professor at the UNAM School of Medicine, the University of Nuevo León, the Nicaraguan Medicine Society, the Medical College of Costa Rica and the Social Security Fund of the Republic of Panama.
The specialist is listed as one of the elements that promoted modern surgery in our country. In fact, he is considered the precursor of pancreas surgery because in 1966 he was the first to perform a cadaveric kidney transplant in Mexico.
He held various administrative positions or as a consultant, in institutions such as the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), the Ignacio Chávez National Institute of Cardiology, the Mexican Association of Gastroenterology, the Ministry of Health, the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases, the Board of Trustees of the Boheringer Ingelheim Foundation, AC, the Mexican Red Cross and the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubirán, (INCMNSZ) of which he was General Director from 1982 to 1992 and Member of the Governing Board in 2011, in addition to be appointed Surgeon Emeritus of the latter institute.
Awards and distinctions
In 1991 he received the National University Prize in Teaching of Natural Sciences granted by the UNAM. Dr. Campuzano Fernández received the Calasanz Medal in its 2013 edition, as a tribute to his long career in the area of medicine and the many contributions he has made to it. The recognition was given to him in a great ceremony at the Cristóbal Colón University, in the city of Veracruz.
Member of Scientific Societies
During his lifetime he was a member of scientific societies in Mexico and abroad as a founding, honorary or numerary member, such as the National Academy of Medicine, the Mexican Council of Gastroenterology, the Mexican Association of Gastroenterology, the Mexican Council of General Surgery, the Mexican Foundation for Health, the Costa Rican Association of Hospitals, the Medical College of Costa Rica, the Peruvian Society of Surgery, among others.
medical publications
As part of his extensive career, he was the author of numerous research papers, two books and collaborated with other researchers, in addition to giving more than a hundred conferences.