Prof. Panagiotis BALAS
Dear Colleagues,
It is with deep sadness and sorrow that we inform you of the passing of Honorary President of the IUA and Emeritus Professor of Medicine in University of Athens Panagiotis Balas (Messinia, Greece 1926- Athens 2024).
A graduate and distinguished doctor of the University of Athens, impressed by the development of Vascular Surgery in the USA, he was trained in major cardiac surgery centers (1959-1963) at Tufts University Medical School, Boston, and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Texas.
In 1982 he was elected Professor of Surgery for the 1st Surgical Department University of Athens, which he had previously served for 25 years and under his clinical management and leadership, it became a pioneering Vascular Surgery Center with international recognition.
Professor Panagiotis Balas launched multiple scientific and organizational activities. In 1982, he founded the Hellenic Vascular Surgery Society and organized two-year post-education courses in Angiology-Vascular Surgery, which attended and received a relevant diploma by more than 2000 young doctors from all over the country. In addition, he founded and organized a series of Greek and international Scientific societies, the Hellenic Society of Angiology, the Hellenic Society of Phlebology, the Mediterranean League of Angiology and Vascular Surgery, the International Society of Angiology, the Indian Society of Angiology, the Michael E. De Bakey International Cardiovascular Society, etc.
He organized dozens of Greek, International and World conferences. As an invited speaker he visited more than 30 countries of all 5 Continents. Among the many honors and diplomas awarded to him by various scientific Societies, Universities and International organizations, his declaration as “Honorary Fellow of the American College of Surgery” is particularly mentioned.
Professor P. Balas was a pioneering Vascular Surgeon in Greece, a personality of global scope, with an important role in the international development of the specialty. He was a tireless ambassador of the country, seeking international scientific collaborations in Angiology – Vascular surgery, between East and West, overcoming the difficulties of that time and the hostilities of the cold war.
The legacy of Professor Balas will always be alive and he will always be remembered as an outstanding mentor and by his students, colleagues and most important, friends all over the world.
Professor Christos Bakogiannis
President for the Hellenic Angiological Society
