Dr. Oscar M. Guillamondegui was born in May 1937 in Buenos Aires, from a family of Basque and Spanish origin. His great grandparents moved to Argentina in the 1850’s. There were no close relatives in the medical field, although many men in the family found a home in the Armed Forces since the Wars of Independence.
He graduated from Medical School in Buenos Aires in 1960, finished a General Surgery Residency in Michigan, at the Wayne State University Hospitals, and completed a Fellowship in Surgical Oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Dr. Guillamondegui joined the Staff of the Department of Head and Neck Surgery in 1968 as Dr. William S. Mac Comb retired and Dr. Richard Jesse became Chairman. Dr. Jesse, a brilliant, pragmatic man, who became an extraordinary mentor and friend, was the major influence in Oscar Guillamondegui ‘s medical education process as a Surgical Oncologist.
He’ did not shine as a Basic Scientist or a Medical Administrator, hut he is very proud to have been a positive motivating factor in the lives of many young physicians. He strongly believed that an educator couldn’t be considered a great teacher unless many of his disciples eventually surpass him in ability, surgical skills, and, of course, fame.
In 1990-1991, as a member of the United States Army Reserve, LtC. Guillamondegui was deployed to the Persian Gulf with the 41-str. Combat Support Hospital, operating in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. In 1991-he became President of the then “Society of Head and Neck Surgeons”, a true highlight of his surgical career. He’ retired from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in 1994, with an academic rank of Professor of Surgery and a member of numerous Surgical Societies in the U.S. and South America. Moving back to Argentina, Dr. Guillamondegui became President of the Argentina Society of Head and Neck Surgeons from 1997 to 1999. He was elected Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the German (Deutsches) Hospital of Buenos Aires in 1999.
Oscar M. Guillamondegui retired from the Medical Profession in May 2006.
Through the years, he played tennis with more enthusiasm than skill, was an avid hunter, and for a while raised Arabian Horses in Texas. Now he hikes, climb mountains and fly fishes, seeking trout and salmon everywhere. Photography has been his hobby for a long time, which gives he and his wife Nilda a good reason travel to unusual places.