Pau Golano, Famed Orthopedic Anatomist Passes Too Soon

He surely had much more work to do and life to live.

Pau Golanó, professor of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Barcelona, died on July 23, 2014 of a massive stroke. Dr. Golanó, who was also a part of the University of Pittsburgh adjunct faculty, was only 49 years old. Visitation was held on July 24, and the funeral was the following day at Tanatorio Les Corts, Avinguda de Joan XXIII.

Niek van Dijk, president of the ESSKA Ankle & Foot Associates, wrote the following in memory and honor of Pau Golanó, “…His exceptional anatomical dissection skills and passion for education was quickly recognized by the orthopaedic surgeons surrounding him. And it did not take long before his skills were recognized worldwide and he became the leading expert on orthopaedic anatomy of the last decade. He devoted his career and life to the education of orthopaedic surgeons, making them better doctors by teaching anatomy in the finest details…Over the years he has written many inspiring papers on orthopaedic surgical anatomy. A great number of them were the result of the collaboration between Pau and our department. Once every two years we organized in Barcelona a dissection course for all the residents of our Department. We practiced all the open surgical approaches. Pau Golanó was our teacher. But Pau was a teacher for all orthopaedic surgeons. Together with the love of his life Celine, he enjoyed travelling the world, meeting friends and sharing his knowledge…”

A statement from the European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery, and Arthroscopy read, “We are deeply saddened to inform you of the untimely passing of Professor Pau Golanó on the 23rd of July 2014. His funeral service was held today [July 25] in Barcelona…In addition to being a dear friend to many of us, and an extremely creative and thoughtful scientist, Pau Golanó was a very talented anatomist who helped shape and advance orthopaedic surgery. He was considered by many to be the best musculoskeletal anatomist in the world. A member of ESSKA and ESSKA-AFAS since 2010, he was honoured with the ESSKA reward for service for the Most Dedicated Individual Member at our 16th Congress in Amsterdam last May. At the ESSKA Congress 2012 in Geneva, Professor Golanó also won the KSSTA Best Paper Award for ‘Anatomy of the Ankle Ligaments: a Pictorial Essay.’”

The University of Pittsburgh commented, “It is with great sadness that we learned that Dr. Pau Golanó passed away yesterday. A great surgeon, friend, and family member to all, he was well known for his irreplaceable skills to anatomical dissection and passion for education…He is a world famous surgical anatomist, photographer, and illustrator…His legacy, genius, and talents have blessed our very own in Pittsburgh. After visiting in the summer of 2008, he continued to collaborate with our department and provided musculoskeletal anatomy lectures to our residents, fellows and medical students. In August 2011, he returned to Pittsburgh to participate in the Panther Global Summit as a Keynote Speaker. We are grateful to experience his genius and enthusiasm which have passed down to the residents and faculty of our institution.”

Freddie Fu, M.D., David Silver Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, will miss his friend and colleague. He noted, “Pau was an inspiration to all of us who wanted to learn anatomy. He was an exceptional teacher, mentor, researcher, artist and a fun and loving person. He will be missed dearly in our field.”

Prof. Stefano Zaffagnini, M.D., associate professor of orthopaedics at the University of Bologna Italy commented, “He was a great man, great friend, great scientist, great anatomist, and a great artist. All the scientific community will lose the chance to learn new views and insight from anatomical pictures performed with extreme precision and love. The best anatomical preparation ever that in his hands truly became art. He was also a great friend. All persons like me that had the chance to spend some time with him had the possibilities to admire his kindness and humanity and how he enjoyed life and friends. Ciao Pau.”