Memoir of Italo Serafini

Almost a year has passed since the death of italo Serafini but his memory lives on. in fact, having got over the emotional distress coming from his demise, that seemed unacceptable even though inevitable, we can now sedately pay homage to him as a maestro, colleague and friend. There can be no doubt that professionally he gave infinitely more than he received. For years he was the pre-eminent italian laryngologist. his research, experimentation and clinical experience in laryngectomy reconstruction constituted the solid reference base for, initially the preparation then the technical definition, the operations (crico-ioido-pessi, crico-ioido-epiglotto-pessi) that were to become commonplace in operating theatres the world over, significantly limiting total laryngectomy with its mutilation. When he finished his specialization, at the end of the 1960s, that he was already well-known and highly es-teemed the world over. he received numerous invitations to present his work at conferences and training lessons, often with surgical dem-(ever sceptical of foreigners) italo presented his work in his characteristic manner, with clarity, scientific rigour, precise technical reference and unequivocal statistical data. Thanks to him italian laryngology became highly regarded in the EnT world and he was highly respected. he was held in high esteem by his maestro, Prof. Arslan, but this was not enough to avoid…exile to Vittorio Veneto in 1974. At the time, besides WW1 fame, Vittorio Veneto was little known but in the space of a few years it became important also in the EnT world, numerous young specialists wanting to learn laryngeal surgery and a multitude of patients from all over italy came here. how often italo pulled my leg saying that in his ward he heard more roman dialect than Venetian dialect. These were the years of the collaboration with Carlon, an exceptional pathologist, who alas, died before his time. These were the years of the Vittorio Veneto " days of laryngology " which quickly became important appointments for the international laryngology world. Furthermore they were the years of the birth of an exceptional EnT school which was to produce so many eminent specialists that, today, continue with enthusiasm the work of their maestro. i have just returned from Vittorio Veneto where i participated in the course in surgery in direct dedicated to the memory of italo Serafini, whose spirit i can assure you was with us. his spiritual presence was felt during every moment of that magnificent course, in the operating …