MEDICAL SOCIETIES, POSITIONS, TRIBUTES

Prof. Ivo Nesralla had an active participation in contributing for developing the Brazilian cardiac specialty. He was one of the founders and Director-Secretary in the first board of the Sociedade Brasileira de Cirurgia Cardiovascular (SBCCV), in the 1983-1985 term, assuming the Presidency in the 1985-1988 term. He actively participated in all annual SBCCV congresses and in its most significant initiatives during his professional life. He was a Full Member of the Academia Sul-Rio-Grandense de Medicina and the Academia National de Medicina. In 1988, he was invited to preside the Associação Brasileira de Transplante de Órgãos (ABTO), biennium 1989-1990.

On June 20, 1991, he received the title of Citizen Emeritus of Porto Alegre, awarded by the City Council.

In March 1997, he was elected President of the Academia Sul-Rio-Grandense de Medicina.

On March 21, 2002, he received the Medal Cidade de Porto Alegre from the Mayor of Porto Alegre.

In 2015, he received the Medal of Merit Farroupilha, the greatest distinction conferred by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio Grande do Sul.

And in 2016, he was highlighted with the “Academia Award” from the Academia Sul-Rio-Grandense de Medicina for his work and contribution to Medicine.

SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTION

In 1975, Prof. Ivo Nesralla published the first edition of the book entitled Cardiopatias Cirúrgicas; in 1982, the second expanded edition was published and yet a third edition, updated and expanded, was published in 1994, edited by the Byk-Procienx Fund^[5].

He participated in the Examining Board of 15 public tenders in other Brazilian universities. He was responsible for the training of more than 40 cardiovascular surgeons, at the level of medical residency and postgraduate studies, who practice in several hospitals and are professors at universities in the state and over the country.

During more than 50 years of medical, academic, and scientific activities, he actively participated in 450 regional, national, and international Medical Congresses. Prof. Ivo Nesralla’s publications are distributed as follows: five books, 13 book chapters, and 515 original papers (457 in national and 84 in international journals).

ARTS, SPORTS, AND SOCIETY

Prof. Ivo Nesralla was an appreciator of the arts and provided numerous services and publications to the community^[6,7]. In October 1983, he was invited by the Governor of the State of Rio Grande do Sul to preside over the Fundação Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre; an entity chaired by him for eight years. In 1985, he received the title of Meritorious Member of the Associação dos Amigos do Museu de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul.

In 1998, he assumed the Presidency of the 2^nd Mercosul Visual Arts Biennial held by the Fundação Bienal de Artes Visuais do Mercosul in partnership with the Ministries of Culture, Education, and Foreign Affairs, the Government of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, and the Municipality of Porto Alegre. In August 2000, the Presidency of the 3^rd Mercosul Visual Arts Biennial was renewed.

On November 7, 2001, he received from Brazil’s President, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, a medal of Commander of the Order of Cultural Merit of Brazil (Figure 2).

Fig. 2 - Prof. Ivo Nesralla receiving the Medal of Commander of the Order of Cultural Merit of the Federative Republic of Brazil, by Brazil’s President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

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Fig. 2 - Prof. Ivo Nesralla receiving the Medal of Commander of the Order of Cultural Merit of the Federative Republic of Brazil, by Brazil’s President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

He was an enthusiast of golf, sport that he practiced twice a week, as long as his health permitted. As such, he presided the Porto Alegre Country Club for two terms, while his wife Paulita presided it for two other periods.

EPILOGUE

In spite of Prof. Ivo Nesralla’s success in almost all ventures and initiatives, destiny has reserved him some ironies, that this memorial could not be closed without highlighting.

One of them - he performed all types of cardiac surgeries with pleasure, except for pacemaker implants, which he disliked, perhaps traumatized by ancient times when operating with radioscopy without an intensifier in the X-ray room, in very precarious conditions. He did not miss an opportunity to express his distaste for pacemaker implants. Ironically, fate has reserved a cardioverter-defibrillator implant for himself, that has guaranteed his presence among us for a few more years.

The other - in his daily life, he often jokingly expressed that cardiac surgery was not a specialty for women, due to the intensity of the heavy work required, stress, and almost integral dedication, which makes personal and family activities very difficult. But the joke was on him because, among other female surgeons he trained, was his very dear daughter Paula, who was not only trained directly by himself, but also accompanied him in surgical activities while he exercised them and still attended him in the final moments.

Prof. Ivo Nesralla, despite the numerous positions and functions he held, was always attached to the operating room, which he referred to as “the earthly paradise”, where he felt full and very at ease, operating to the sound of classical music, preferably Bach. With the advancement of age and the illnesses that affected him, his presence in the operating room has been decreasing since 2016, but he has always maintained his determination to return. He visited or called the hospital frequently, reminding us to reserve space to operate in the coming weeks. In personal contacts or on the phone, until the week prior to his departure, he always ended the conversation with the expression: “In a few days, when I get better, I will go back and operate with you”.