Juan Carlos Parodi

Juan Carlos Parodi (Buenos Aires, August 16, 1942) is an Argentinian vascular surgeon who introduced the minimally invasive endovascular aneurysm repair (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 procedure) together with Drs. Frank Veith, Michael L. Marin and Claudio J. Schonholz. 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 repairs of the aorta.

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 and following it did another one at the Cleveland Clinic with emphasis on vascular surgery. 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. In 2005, Juan Parodi was celebrated as the creator of the Parodi Endograft, "one of the biggest innovations in the history of vascular surgery". He is adjunct surgical research professor, University of Michigan, USA.

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. 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 2020 Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) International Lifetime Achievement Award 2023 Konex Award - 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. 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.