In Memoriam of Professor Giancarlo Falcinelli
Jean-Marie Parel, Giancarlo Falcinelli, Emmanuel Lacombe
To all KPro aficionados
In Memoriam of Professor Giancarlo Falcinelli
Dear All,
It is with great sadness that I have to write these few words. Our dear friend and colleague Professor Giancarlo Facinelli, who taught us the art of MOOKP for a third of a century, passed yesterday in his home in Rome.
Giancarlo was instrumental in the formation of the KPro Study Group: he participated to the 1st meeting held in 1992 at the Bascom Palmer and all subsequent meetings until his health no longer allowed him to travel.
Giancarlo was the most generous man I have ever met and deeply cared for his patients whom he gave his home address, phone and mobile numbers so they could reach him whenever they needed. Most of his patients lived in different cities and many couldn’t afford transportation and accommodation in Rome, so he took care of that personally.
Professor Facinelli taught MOOKP at many institutions, including the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. He would train surgeons and OR staff and when a patient was scheduled, he would fly from Rome to assist our surgeon and his team in the operating room. He would fly back whenever we had a new patient. Giancarlo did this many times and never asked for compensation or reimbursement of this travel expenses. Giancarlo was also open to suggestions and improvements of the technique and instrumentation. He loved being in the research center, teaching scientists about the patient needs and participated to the development and testing of several novel devices and studies.
Many of Giancarlo’s pupils sent emails recognizing Giancarlo’s impact on their life and there are too many to print here but maxillofacial surgeon Yoh Sawatari summarize them most:
Dr. Falcinelli was the true definition of a healthcare professional. His compassion, surgical skills, generosity, knowledge, and his experience had such a tremendous impact on the world. Although I only had the privilege of working with Professor Falcinelli on 3 occasions, the positive impact he had on the specialty of OMFS in America, my career, and me as an individual will always be precious. I will always remember the hug he gave me when we completed the MOOKP surgery. I will miss him very much.
The funeral will be held Wednesday 27 at 9 am in the church Regina Pacis, Piazza Rosolino Pilo, 00152 Rome, Italy
The KPro Study Group lost a great and unique member.
For the Steering Committee
Jean-Marie Parel
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