Dr. Ivo Pitanguy - the Plastic Surgery Guru

Dr. Ivo Pitanguy - The Plastic Surgery Guru

"The quest for plastic surgery emanates from a transcendent finality. It is the attempt to reach harmony between body and spirit, emotional and rational, aiming to establish an internal balance which allows the individual to find harmony with his own image and the universe that surrounds him."- Ivo Pitanguy

Dr Ivo Pitanguy, known as the 'The king of plastic surgery' is a legendary plastic surgeon not only in Brazil but worldwide. Recognized as one of the world's most eminent plastic surgeons, Ivo Pitanguy has enhanced the appearance of hundreds of the world's celebrities, as well as many thousands of others. He is the director of the Ivo Pitanguy Clinic, the most prestigious aesthetic plastic surgery facility in the world. He is also the head & professor of the Post-Graduate Medical School of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and the Carlos Chagas Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Studies where plastic surgery facilities to the masses are provided by a team of plastic surgeons under the supervision of Prof.Ivo Pitanguy in line with his philosophy and techniques.

Dr Ivo Pitanguy was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in 1926 and graduated from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro School of Medicine in 1940s.Dr. Pitanguy later got educated in the U.S. and France and started practice in Rio de Janeiro in 1950s.He developed and innovated various plastic surgery techniques and became a pioneer of plastic surgery in Latin America.

In 1963, he started Ivo Pitanguy Clinic which has now become a world reference and center of excellence in the aesthetic plastic surgery. Pitanguy renovated a ward ''38th infirmary'' at the public Santa Casa da Misericórdia Hospital in Rio where, for four decades, he has operated on hundreds of impoverished patients at no charge. He gained deep respect for performing reconstructive surgery on the poor and for his dedication to creating a better life for those with burn deformities and birth defects. This centre also provides whole range of aesthetic surgical procedures for general masses at nominal cost. Here more than a thousand plastic and aesthetic surgeries are performed each year by the team of over 40 plastic surgeons.

Now the 38th infirmary has became a sort of "Mecca" of plastic surgery in Brazil where plastic surgeons from all over the world visits to improve their knowledge and learn various techniques in plastic surgery.Dr Pitanguy has trained more than 600 plastic surgeons from 40 different countries over a period of more than 40 years at this centre which is considered to be a reference of excellence in the formation of plastic surgeons.


Author Dr Sanjay Saraf with Dr Ivo Pitanguy

Prof Ivo Pitanguy is credited with inventing 100's of plastic & aesthetic surgery techniques. He has received numerous national and international distinctions. He was honored with the title of Chancellier des Universités de Paris and Doctor Honoris Causa of Tel Aviv University in Israel, among many others. As a guest professor, he has presented his work in several conferences and more than 100 institutions, hospitals, universities and plastic surgery associations around the world.Ivo Pitanguy is the author of more than 800 papers published in various international scientific magazines and has written many book chapters in plastic surgery books. His book, "Plastic Surgery of the Head and Body," which was launched in 1981 at the Frankfurt Book Fair, received the prize for the best scientific book of that year and became an important comprehensive source of plastic & aesthetic surgery knowledge.

Besides his work, he appreciates the jet-set lifestyle; international travel and his beautiful home.Prof Pitanguy can speak several languages and is an avid art collector and philanthropist. "I try to harmonize my life between surgeries, classes and conferences without giving up the pleasure of living," says Dr Pitanguy. An ardent nature-lover, Dr Pitanguy also devotes much of his time to the protection of the environment. In the 1970s, he created an ecological sanctuary on the island of Porcos Grande. He also has a passion for art, and was president of the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro from 1975 to 1985. Professor Pitanguy has received countless distinctions for his work, and was particularly proud in 1999 when his life was made the theme of "The Universe of Beauty", a show by Rio's popular samba school, Caprichosos de Pilares.

Truly, seeking beauty for physical and mental well being is a right of all .The desire to beautify and achieve it is everybody’s dream. Dr Pitanguy has shouldered this task for more than half a century. For Professor Pitanguy the greatest goal in his life remained to be able to give everyone, regardless of their race or social class, harmony and peace with their own image and psyche. His philosophy and legacy will forever continue to achieve this task.