Prof. Antonio M. de Lacy Fortuny is professor of surgery, University of Barcelona School of Medicine, and chief, department of general and digestive surgery, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spain. He completed his undergraduate degree from the University of Barcelona’s School of Medicine in 1980 before starting his surgical training in general surgery at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. In 1988, he earned his doctorate in medicine upon completion of his thesis paper, titled “Hemodynamic changes after distal spleno-renal shunt in patients with portal hypertension.”
Shortly thereafter, he left Spain for the U.S. to further his postgraduate training at Emory University, Atlanta, GA; The Cleveland Clinic, OH; and Mt. Sinai Hospital and Cornell University, New York, NY. He returned to Spain and joined the surgical faculty at the University of Barcelona, where he rose quickly through the ranks. In 2003, he was appointed professor of surgery, and in 2007 was named chief of the department of general and digestive surgery for the Institute of Metabolic and Digestive Diseases within the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona.
Most of his medical career has been focused on general laparoscopic, oncologic, and bariatric surgery, as well as the implementation of Natural Orifice Transluminal Surgery (NOTES). Professor Lacy developed the first three-dimensional operating theatre to facilitate minimally invasive surgical procedures through a joint venture with industry. He founded the automatic identification system channel, which, at the time, was an innovative approach to communicate with surgeons worldwide about educational information, surgical techniques, and contemporary advances in surgery.
He has published more than 200 scientific articles and presented his work or served as an invited guest lecturer at countless national and international medical assemblies. He is a member of many European surgical organizations and was inducted into honorary membership in the American Association of Colorectal Surgeons. Professor de Lacy was president of the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery and a founding member and vice-president of the Multidisciplinary International Rectal Cancer Society.
