History of Latin American Dermatology

History of Dermatology in ColombiaE.B. Del Castillo and Guillermo Di Paola; in endocrine research he was a collaborator anddisciple of Nobel Prize winner Bernardo Alberto Houssay; in Dermatology he was a discipleof Prof. Cordibiola and author of the Contrast Coloration for Galli Mainini Reactions;Enrique Alonso Osorio Camacho (Figure 9) studied at the Autonomous NationalUniversity of Mexico, was a professor at the University of Cartagena (1972-1992), presidentof the Colombian Association of Dermatology of which he is currently Emeritus andHonorary Member, practicing with excellence in Cartagena; and Diego Fernando GómezPérez, who is 1960 graduated as a dermatologist in Argentina; a teacher and politicalleader 15 .Cali (Valle del Cauca) saw the arrival in 1939 of Julio César Barreneche Mesa, who studiedDermatology and anesthesiology in Switzerland; alsopracticing there, albeit without being specialists, wereCarlos Salcedo Cabal and Jaime Kelber. In 1954, HernánTobón Pizarro, of the Skin and Cancer Hospital of NewYork, who had studied in Buenos Aires under Prof. LuisPierini, was a pillar of the specialized field until hisdeath in 1985; 1956 was the year of the arrival of JaimeBetancourt Osorio (Figure 10), a living glory of this specializedfield, who studied in Madrid in 1955 androunded out his knowledge with Prof. Pierini in BuenosAires; with Dr. Tobón they were the first professors ofDermatology of the University del Valle. Additionally,Jaime Betancourt has devoted himself to painting, sculptureand poetry. I feel the greatest love and respect forhim. In 1960, Ernesto Correa Galindo, a pioneering dermatopathologist trained in Argentinaunder the tutelage of Pierini, Borda and Abulafia, set up a chair at the St. John ofGod Hospital; in 1965, Antonio José Torres Muñoz (Figure 11), a disciple of Dr. Correa’s,completed his studies in Buenos Aires with Aarón Kaminsky; he is an exemplary ad honoremprofessor at the University del Valle, a consummate reader, gifted with an incomparablememory and vast general knowledge; in 1966 there arrived Rafael FalabellaFalabella, a graduate of the University of Iowa, who in 1970, along with Jaime Betancourtand Nelson Giraldo, created the Dermatology Service of the University del Valle, of whichhe has been the Chief since; his research has achieved great progress in the study andtreatment of vitiligo. In 1967, Cecilia Moncaleano deLasprilla (Figure 12) began her practice; she is the ladyof Dermatology in the Cauca Valley, the first woman topractice Dermatology in Colombia, a physician whograduated from the National University and specializedas a dermatologist at the University of São Paulo. She didextremely significant work at the St. John of God Hospital,the leprosy dispensarium and the National Railroadsuntil 1991, when she retired. Nelson Giraldo Restreporeturned that same year, having studied dermopathologyin Buenos Aires with Prof. Abulafia; he was an excellentprofessor at the University del Valle 15, 21 .The history of Dermatology in Santander began withÁlvaro Sabogal Rey, who arrived in Bucaramanga in1958, appointed by the Health Ministry to lead the leprosyprograms together with Virgilio Rodríguez. Alejandro Villalobos Fernández arrivedin 1960, having graduated in Buenos Aires, and after several years of practice settled inthe United States. Following studies in Spain, Luis Felipe Moreno — who launched thetreatment of ulcers in the lower limbs — arrived in 1961; and in 1964 so did JaimeFigure 9.Enrique A.OsorioFigure 10. JaimeBetancourtFigure 11.Antonio TorresFigure 12.CeciliaMoncaleano121