Professor Plinio Rossi, a pioneer in interventional radiology, sadly passed away at the age of 96 on September 14. He was beloved by patients, colleagues, mentees, students, and friends. With a career spanning over a half a century, Prof. Rossi left a lasting legacy.
In 1952, Prof. Rossi obtained a medical degree from the Sapienza University of Rome, graduating with perfect marks. He then applied to the school of radiology at the University of Florence at Careggi, but due to an oversight, he was not admitted. Seeking a change, he left Italy in 1954 to join his brother Giuseppe in New York. He again applied to study radiology and succeeded, beginning a three-year residency at Queens General Hospital in New York City in 1955.
After obtaining his American medical license, Prof. Rossi took a radiology attendant position at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan, where he stayed for 13 years, eventually becoming chief of cardiovascular radiology. Prof. Rossi later returned to Italy and earned an Italian radiology specialization as well as teaching qualifications. (Coincidentally, the professor who rejected Prof. Rossi’s first application to study radiology conferred him his teaching qualifications along with words of praise.)
Prof. Rossi achieved remarkable milestones in Italy and across Europe. Notably, in 1974, Prof. Rossi carried out the first angioplasty with a primordial balloon ever conducted in Italy alongside Dr. Barry Katzen and Dr. Giovanni Simonetti. He received eight gold medals, including one from SIR, the Japanese Society of Interventional Radiology, and CIRSE. In the last decade of his career, Prof. Rossi worked as a full professor and director of the Third Chair of Radiology at the Sapienza University of Rome.
In 1973, together with a group of other European radiologists, Prof. Rossi laid the foundation for the European Society of Vascular Radiology, which would later become CIRSE. He was also a founding member of the American Society of Vascular Radiology (now SIR) and the Italian Society of Medical Radiology (SIRM) and an honorary member of several European and international societies. Over the course of his career, he spoke at more than 700 congresses and authored or co-authored over 400 publications.
Prof. Rossi once said, “We should never stop learning and, whenever possible, we have to continue improving ourselves.” His energy, commitment to education, innovative spirit, and passion for IR touched countless lives and will be remembered by many.
