Manuel Campuzano Fernández (17 February 1925 – 15 April 2022).
Surgeon, academic and former director of the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubirán. He is recognised as the father of pancreatic surgery in Mexico.
A lover of nature, Baja California and good coffee, he was an extremely creative person, always coming up with new ways of approaching surgery or making a joke. Always very simple and human. His sense of humour was characteristic, and he was often seen practising movements with a string or coins in his hand to maintain his agility in the operating theatre. He always took care of his body, enjoying long walks and hikes, and was a fervent lover of classical music.
Baja California captivated him, and he made numerous trips to the region. Fishing was one of his passions, as he enjoyed the contact with nature while camping and valued the quiet and calm moments in the boat.
In 1957, he joined the National Institute of Nutrition as a basic physician.
From 1957 to 1982 he was a professor in the Gastroenterology class at the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. In 1980, together with 15 colleagues from the Hospital de Nutrición, he initiated the programme to develop Medica Sur, with the objective of establishing private medical practices close to the institution where they worked.
Manuel served as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the beginning of this great project which is now considered one of the best private health care institutions in our country. Today the operating theatres are named in his honour.