On July 12, 2003, Alain Choussat passed away after a long and painful disease. Alain was born in Algeria in 1937, where his father was professor of medicine at the university of Algiers, and his mother was a primary care physician. He served his internship in Algiers in 1960, but then had to leave his native country, starting a new life in France in 1962. He worked hard as an intern in Paris, and then became a successful cardiologist for both adults and children at the University of Bordeaux, where he worked extensively with Francis Fontan and Eugene Baudet. His most famous contribution was, perhaps, the establishment of the “Ten Commandments” for the treatment of tricuspid atresia. He had participated extensively in promoting the concept of the Fontan procedure, carrying out the hemodynamic and angiographic explorations himself, and working out the indications for the operation as set out in the “Commandments”.
Since 1978, he had been a very active chief of Paediatric Cardiology in Bordeaux, and was the President of the paediatric group within the French Society of Cardiology. He was also very active within the Association for European Paediatric Cardiology, first as a member and councillor before becoming Scientific Secretary from 1987 to 1992. He was the first President elect of our association, serving from 1992 to 1995. He organized our annual meeting in Bordeaux in 1982, which remains in the memory of all those who attended because of the famous dinner in Cos d'Estournel, supported by the very best wines of Bordeaux, and a splendid post-congress tour in St Emilion.
Everybody loved him. His kindness, humanity, and sense of humour, as well as his professional skills, were appreciated by his patients just as much as by his fellows and colleagues. He fought bravely a severe haematological disease, passing through a period of painful treatment with extraordinary courage to achieve 9 months of remission, during which he returned full time to his department of Paediatric Cardiology to support his young colleagues, Maria Jimenez and Tambo.
Christian Rey and I attended his funeral. The church was full of old patients and colleagues.
On behalf of the European Association, we passed on our condolences on their loss to his wife Nicole, and to his four sons Philippe, Pierre, Guillaume and Olivier.
Alain, we all miss you.
