Although plain & simple by Recoleta standards, this family vault contains two of the greatest surgeons in Argentine history. Enrique Finochietto entered medical school in Buenos Aires at the age of 16 & earned his degree with honors in 1904. After spending some time as a surgical intern specializing in skin & venereal disease, Enrique took his first trip to Europe to learn new techniques, brought them back to Argentina & was named head of surgery at Hospital Rawson. He would not sit still for long.
Enrique returned to Europe during World War I, meeting Marcelo T. de Alvear in Paris, where they jointly set up a hospital for the wounded. The French were so grateful that they awarded Enrique the Legion of Honor medal. Returning to Buenos Aires, the Finochietto brothers opened the new, cutting-edge surgical wing of the Hospital Rawson & Enrique began inventing surgical instruments… among them the frontolux, inspired by a miner’s head gear. After a long history of medical accomplishments, Enrique succumbed to syphilis in 1948.
Enrique’s younger brother, Ricardo, followed in his footsteps but was more geared toward teaching than inventions. He traveled to the United States in the 1930’s & implented the system of residency in Argentina by establishing a surgical school specifically for recent graduates to improve their technique.
In 1950 while head of the Polyclinic in Avellaneda, Ricardo was designated as Eva Perón’s head physician. With an advanced case of uterine cancer, he could do little to ease Evita’s pain & was present when U.S. surgeon George Pack performed a hysterectomy. In the 1952 photo below, Ricardo appears on the far right. After the Revolución Libertadora which ousted Perón, Ricardo’s ties with the previous administration prevented him from working in the public sphere. He passed away in 1962.
What remains unclear is why Enrique & Ricardo Finochietto are in this particular family vault. Since the mausoleum is not in their name, perhaps it belongs to a family member by marriage. Stay tuned for updates!
Update (21 Oct 2011): The third Finochietto brother, Miguel Ángel, was also a surgeon & worked alongside Enrique at the Hospital Rawson. He, too, is buried in Recoleta Cemetery but in a different vault… the exact location of which is still unknown. While searching through my thousands of Recoleta Cemetery photos, I stumbled across the following plaque for Miguel Ángel (photo from 2007):
Despite three attempts, I haven’t been able to find this plaque again in the cemetery. Today, I talked with one of the caretakers in the area where he should be buried (judging from the photos I took before & after) & most likely the vault for Miguel Ángel was recently sold. Still have to confirm with Administración, but it seems likely that he has moved to another cemetery.
Adding a “chisme”.
My father was one of the residents that trained in the Hospital Rawson with the Finochietto brothers. All the residents were hand-picked by the two brothers, and the great majority of them went on to become important surgeons in Argentina. My father created a very important residency program in that polyclinic in Avellaneda (Hospital Fiorito).
My dad and his residency peers venerated the Finochiettos. They worked in the Rawson from 5 am to 6 or 7 pm, . They did not get paid because then hospital knew they would not leave anyway. The government owned the major hospitals since Peron built them when he was President.
The two, but especially Ricardo, were incredibly strict and demanding, because they felt that was the only way to get great surgeons. Some of their demands were in my opinion, acts of torture, yet they formed great surgeons. My dad later used the same method with similar results.
The Rawson Hospital was closed shortly after they left, and the last I heard is that it became a big nursing home.
They were very reserved as to their private lives, but many of their disciples (will not give names) claim that the youngest, Miguel Angel committed suicide. This could be the reason it is difficult to find him in a catholic cemetery, since the Catholic Church did not approve of these actions.
My older brother moved to the USA when he was 15 y.o. and is now a well-known liver and kidney transplant surgeon (went to medical school in Boston). I moved to the USA 30 years ago after medical school in Argentina, and against my dad’s wishes became a psychiatrist (I was later forgiven by him 🙂 🙂 🙂 ).
Thank you for writing such a great document. One of the few I spent hours on and one of the two I ever replied to. Too bad it took me 15 years!!!
Hello Luis – This is fantastic information, & a wonderful first-hand account of the accomplishments of the Finochietto brothers. Thank you so much! Miguel Ángel was at one point buried in Recoleta Cemetery (otherwise the plaque would not have been placed), but you sparked my interest again in his life. I managed to find a much longer document stating that Miguel Ángel died from tuberculosis… of course, I’ll have to confirm that at some point. I appreciate that you took the time to write… now everyone can enjoy your story as well! Un abrazo!