Professor Costel Pleşa br (1932 - 2015)
Eugen TârcoveanuHistory of medicine, no. 2, 2016
On August 15 2015, Professor Costel Pleæa, a well-known personality of the medical school of Iasi, passed away. Prof. Costel Pleæa M.D, a distinguished surgeon and professor, to whom countless people owe their lives or profession, devoted his entire life to surgery, which he served faithfully. He was born on 21st of May 1932 at Umbrãreæti, Galaåi County. He attended the Faculty of Medicine in Iaæi, which he graduated with honours. Initially, he worked in the Anatomy Laboratory and at Surgery Clinic III led by professors I. Iancu and Gh. Chipail. Their devotion to patients, the Clinic and the University of Medicine, was furthered by prof. Costel Pleæa. He attended professional refresher courses at the clinic of I. Fãgãrãæanu, later on member of the Romanian Academy; he became consultant MD of cardiovascular surgery. Prof. C. Pleşa M.D. obtained after competitive examinations all the academic degress, starting from assistant professor, lecturer, associate professor, and becoming full Professor in 1996. He worked asa consultant surgeon and Professor at Surgery Clinic III of the St. Spiridon University Hospital in Iaæi. While he led the First Surgical Clinic in Iaæi (1997-2002) the activity of the clinic diversified and enriched: a new course on surgical pathology was introduced and two national surgery conferences were organized. He attended specialized training courses in oesophageal surgery, hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery, gastric surgery, colorectal surgery, laparoscopic surgery, both in Romania and abroad. For over 40 years, at the operating table, he saved thousands of lives; he always performed surgery naturally, finding the simplest, and sometimes the most courageous solutions, always thinking of the safety of the patients. As PhD. coordinator, he supervised six doctoral dissertations. Prof. C. Pleşa wrote two books (Surgery of Biliary Fistulas - Junimea Publishing House, Iaæi, 1993; General Surgery for Students - in two-volumes, Timpul Publishing House, Iaæi, 1999, 2002), chapters for the Surgical Pathology Treatise, Vol. I (under the editorial guidance of N. Angelescu) Medical Publishing House, 2001 (Chapters on Malabsorption Syndrome, Surgical Treatment of Obesity, Intestinal Tuberculosis, Tumours of the Small Intestine). He published over 90 scientific articles in the Medical- Surgical Journal of Iaşi and Chirurgia Journal; 38 of these are included in the PubMed database. He was a member of various scientific societies: The Society for Doctors and Naturalists of Iaæi, the Romanian Surgical Society, the International Society of Cardiovascular Surgery (De Bakey), the Italian Surgical Society, the International Society for Oesophageal Disease, the International Surgical Society. His achievements, demonstrated that Prof. C. Plesa M.D. honoured the memory of his predecessors and helped his collaborators live up to their highest expectations as medical instructors, scientists and surgeons.
