Ricardo Lozano Mantecón (1941–2021)

On July 26, 2021, Ricardo Lozano Mantecón died at his home in Marbella, his place of residence for the past few years. A surgeon, teacher, humanist and friend, he departed discretely, almost anonymously after an intense, passionate and exemplary life.

Born in 1941 in Zaragoza into a notable Aragonese family, Ricardo was the third generation of an illustrious saga of surgeons: his grandfather, Ricardo Lozano Monzón, was Dean of Surgery at the University of Zaragoza, and his father, Ricardo Lozano Blesa, was also Dean of Surgical Pathology of the Medical College of Zaragoza. Both were exceptional witnesses of some of the milestones of the ‘golden age’ of surgery as well as the ‘triumph’ of modern surgery.

He studied at the Colegio del Salvador (PP. Jesuits), which surely influenced his personality and education in the purest Ignatian pedagogical style, which he always touted. He graduated with the Extraordinary Prize from the College of Medicine at the Universidad de Zaragoza in 1965 and was also awarded the Extraordinary Prize from the same University in 1972.

In addition to basing his surgical training in Zaragoza in the school of his father and teacher, Ricardo received extensive training at several top teaching hospitals: Georgetown University (1965), Strasbourg (1966), Düsseldorf (1967), Zúrich (1968), Paris (1972–1973), where he also complemented his training in Cardiovascular Surgery with Professors Dubost and Carpentier at the Broussais Hospital, and subsequently in Palo Alto (1980) and Ghent (1998).

In 1976, Ricardo became the Dean of Anatomical Pathology and Clinical Surgery at the University of Zaragoza, a position which he held until his retirement in 2011 with a masterful teaching capacity, while also becoming Director of the Department of Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology of the University of Zaragoza. He was also an extraordinary professor with the Department of Surgery at the University of Navarra (1991–1993) and a visiting professor at several European institutions and universities: Chirurgische Akademie in Berlin and the Universities of Heidelberg, Marburg and Ludwig Maximilian, the Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, and American institutions such as Stanford University, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Walter Reed Hospital in Washington DC, and Brooks Army Hospital in Texas.

All of this would contribute to his recognition and international prestige, enabling Ricardo to be in permanent contact with leading surgical centers around the world and subsequently incorporate new techniques and paradigms of surgery and surgical pathology in his department. In addition, he facilitated the creation of cooperative programs and stays for the continuous professional development and training of surgeons in his service, residents and other predoctoral collaborators, with universities like Paris-Villejuif, Munich, Louvain, Rotterdam, Lausanne, Milan, Milwaukee, Enston, Virginia and Los Angeles.

Ricardo was head of the Department of Surgery ‘A’ at the newly created Hospital Clínico Universitario Lozano Blesa (1976–2011), which also incorporated the Cardiovascular Surgery and Thoracic Surgery divisions, as well as a national reference unit for frostbite management. In 1988, he obtained the accreditation of the hospital in the Liver Transplantation Program, which he managed until his retirement in 2011.

Academic numerary of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Zaragoza and president of the Aragonese Society of Surgery, he was also president of the Spanish Association of Surgeons (2010–2011) during complicated institutional times and led its renewal with effectiveness and pragmatism, but with firmness and equity. He was also a member of the International Committee and Delegate for Spain of the International Society of Surgery and Governor of the Spanish Chapter of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Regarding his research activity, Ricardo was founder and co-editor of the journal Cirugía Iberoamericana in 1991, president of the Society of Surgical Research, president and general secretary of the European Society for Surgical Research and led a powerful research team fundamentally focused on the immunological aspects of surgery, with relevant scientific contributions. His radical surgery for echinococcosis at the hepatic, peritoneal and hepatopulmonary levels is a line of research and dedication that received national and international recognition, and he was president of the Spanish Association of Hydatidology and vice-president of the International Society of Hydatidology. He also made notable contributions to liver and oncological surgery, which were included in the fundamental curriculum of the master’s degree program in Medical Research at the University of Zaragoza. In terms of specific scientific production numbers, he was involved in the publication of 251 articles and directed 31 doctoral theses.

But his legacy is not only the compendium of so many milestones and personal achievements that have been briefly mentioned. It is so much more. As a surgeon, he was one of the ‘greats’, ahead of his time, establishing a ‘modern take’ in Spanish surgery and basing surgery on 4 pillars: a deep understanding of and research into surgical pathophysiology, especially in the field of immunology; ‘perfectionism’ and exactness in surgical techniques; the constant adaptation to new milestones and paradigms; and, especially, humanism centered on profound respect for, and even complicity with, his patients.

As a professor and ‘master’ (a concept that may not be well understood by newer generations), his capacity for teaching captivated the students in his master classes, convinced and instructed the interns, residents and staff surgeons in the clinical sessions, seminars, clinical visits and the operating room, in which the order, meticulousness and thoroughness in the technique and the scientific justification of all the maneuvers created a special climate that was evident. This was also true in national and international surgical conferences in which he was able to win over the audience in any scientific language, imparting his wisdom in a convincing but friendly and exemplary manner.

He was a noble Aragonese in the strictest sense of the word: liberal, consistent with his ideas, with innate elegance and exquisite education in which sincerity, loyalty, tenacity, critical spirit and respect for others shaped his personality that left no one indifferent.

Dear Ricardo, wherever you are beyond the stars, be satisfied that your memory will always be present in the pleiad of surgeons and friends who had the fortune to share some of these experiences with you. Rest in peace.