René Prêtre

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René Prêtre
Born1957
Boncourt, Switzerland
CitizenshipSwiss
Alma materUniversity of Geneva
Medical career
ProfessionSurgeon
InstitutionsUniversity Hospital of Zurich, University Hospital of Lausanne
Sub-specialtiesChildren's heart surgery
Awards2009 Swiss of the Year

René Prêtre (born 1957) is a Swiss pediatric heart surgeon at the University Hospital of Lausanne. He has performed thousands of surgeries on children's hearts.

Early life and education[edit]

Prêtre was born into a family of farmers in the countryside of Canton Jura, as one of seven siblings.[1][2] His father was a farmer and a Jurassian independence activist who was summoned five times before a judge.[2] Prêtre learned to work with his hands and to repair farm machinery.[3] His grandfather was a watchmaker.[3]

Prêtre initially wanted to become a farmer or a football player,[1] but applied for a position in medical school after a colleague from high school suggested it to him and told him the deadline for applying was approaching.[1][3] In 1988 he graduated from the University of Geneva in general surgery.[4] Between 1988 and 1990 he followed up on his studies at New York University, where he specialized in cardiovascular surgery.[4] He completed his formation in cardiovascular surgery at the University of Geneva in 1994, and became a lecturer at the university the same year.[4]

Professional career[edit]

As a student at New York University in the late 1980s, Prêtre was a surgeon at Bellevue Hospital in New York.[5] After his graduation in 1994,[4] he became a surgeon at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.[6] In 1997 he joined the University Hospital in Zurich and by 2002 he was hired as Professor for pediatric cardiovascular surgery at the University of Zurich.[4] Since, he performed cardiovascular surgeries also at the Children's Hospital of Zurich [de].[4] In 2011, it was reported that he would leave the University Hospital of Zurich and be hired as the head of the cardiovascular division at the University Hospital of Lausanne in August 2012.[7] The same month he was appointed as a professor at the University of Lausanne.[4] As in 2015 the Romand University Centre for Cardiology and Children's Heart Surgery (CURCCCP) was created, he became its coordinator for children's heart surgery.[8] Through the CURCCCP, he was appointed as a professor at the University of Geneva in 2016.[9]

Surgery[edit]

Before specializing in heart surgeries, Prêtre performed surgeries on victims of gunshots and stabbings at Bellevue Hospital in New York.[5] There, Prêtre and his team would listen to "She Drives Me Crazy" by the Fine Young Cannibals, which according to him had a good rhythm for surgical work.[5] Throughout his career Prêtre has performed surgeries on about 9,000 hearts[5][1] of which around 6,000 were children's hearts.[3][5] When operating, he wears glasses with a five-fold magnification to improve his eyesight.[3] Some of the surgeries can last up to fourteen hours, during which he drinks very little fluid in order to be able to stay in the operation room.[3] Through his NGO Le Petit Coeur[10] he annually travels for a few weeks to Mozambique and Cambodia to perform heart surgeries.[1]

Personal life[edit]

Prêtre is a fan of the French football club FC Sochaux[2] and played football in the Swiss regional league during his studies.[3] He currently avoids drinking more than one glass of wine.[5] Prêtre was married and has two daughters.[2]

Recognition[edit]

2009 Swiss of the Year[11]

2020 Prix des Arts, des Lettres et des Sciences of the Canton of Jura[12]

The planet 162937 Prêtre is named after him.[13]

Book[edit]

2016 memoir, Et au centre bat le coeur: chroniques d'un chirurgien cardiaque pédiatrique[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Eckardt, Ann-Kathrin (24 May 2017). "Gesundheit: Kinderherzchirurg René Prêtre aus Lausanne". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Schuler, Mario (20 June 2009). "René Prêtre - Alltag im Operationssaal". Schweizer Illustrierte (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Wagner, Stefan (10 April 2018). "Diese Hände retteten 6000 Kinder". Red Bull. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "René Prêtre". University of Lausanne (in French). Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Kullmann, Kerstin (23 April 2017). "Kinderherzchirurg René Prêtre im Spiegel-Gespräch". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Election de l'Homme de l'Année". Bilan (in French). 4 September 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Kinderherzchirurg René Prêtre verlässt Kinderspital Zürich". Swissinfo (in German). 25 March 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Création du Centre universitaire romand de cardiologie et chirurgie cardiaque pédiatriques" (PDF). University Hospital of Geneva. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Maurice Beghetti et René Prêtre nommés professeurs ordinaires à l'UNIL et à l'UNIGE" (PDF). University Hospital of Geneva. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Herzchirurgie – Beruf und Berufung". Price Waterhouse Coopers (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  11. ^ "René Prêtre – Geschichten über Herz und Seele". Santemedia (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  12. ^ Jura, www jura ch, République et Canton du. "René Prêtre lauréat du Prix des Arts, des Lettres et des Sciences". www.jura.ch (in French). Retrieved 23 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (10 June 2012). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 1267. ISBN 978-3-642-29718-2.
  14. ^ Prêtre, René, ... (2016). Et au centre bat le coeur : chronique d'un chirurgien cardiaque pédiatrique (in French). Impr. Floch). Paris: Flammarion. ISBN 978-2-08-139753-8. OCLC 962280948.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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