A Breath of Life

It is my distinct honor to report to you that one of our faculty members, Dr. Peter Safar, Distinguished Service Professor of Resuscitation Medicine, and the Father of this Department, was the subject of a feature article in the Sunday Magazine section of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette (The Beat Goes On – March 31, 2002). This article came on the heels of another, smaller item that recently appeared in Newsweek magazine. But, unlike the Newsweek article, and numerous others that have appeared over the years about Peter’s work, the Post Gazette also focused on Peter Safar the person, his life’s work, his best-kept secret (namely, his lovely and charming wife Eva), and the now famous 22 rules by which he lives. The article was unique in that it provided to the public-at-large an excellent overview of Peter’s life and his main accomplishments, revealing a true giant, right in our midst.

However, I can attest to the fact that Peter’s greatness lies not only in his unusually prolific scientific achievements thus far, but also in his great mentoring ability and his capacity to inspire and encourage young investigators. This is, in my opinion, Peter’s greatest legacy -- that he has influenced hundreds if not thousands of students from every corner of the world. Once under the guidance of the great master there is no possibility of failure, and even the least among his students end up achieving more than they ever thought possible. His energy is boundless and contagious. He is generous with his time, gracious and charming, and above all, patient -- more so than any other teacher I have ever known. Peter recently published his professional memoirs as part of the ‘Careers in Anesthesiology’ series published by the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology. It is a fascinating story and I encourage all of you to read it.

But Peter Safar may have to write an addendum to his memoirs, since his greatest scientific achievement is yet to come. Peter and his associates at the Safar Center are diligently working on a novel resuscitative technique that may, in the near future, revolutionize the way severely injured trauma victims are treated in the field. Initial laboratory studies in dogs have been quite promising, breaking all previously established records for resuscitation with good neurological recovery after prolonged exsanguination cardiac arrest. Clinical trials of this new protocol are in the planning stages.

Recently, Peter has been recovering at home from an illness. We wish a speedy and complete recovery – and many more years of a wonderful life – to the Distinguished Service Professor through whose efforts so many ‘hearts and brains too good to die’ have been brought back from the brink of death by the breath of life.

-- Ernesto A. Pretto