History of Orthopedic Surgeons’ Training. In the mid-20th century, Doctors Walter Edgard Maffei and Bartolomeu Bartolomei, both short-statured physicians who turned out to be giants of Medicine, could be seen walking through the hospital corridors.

In January 1952, Maffei sought to structure the Department of Pathology, welcoming José Donato de Próspero, who had just graduated from USP in 1951. At the time, Professor Donato noticed an orthopedic surgeon frequently visiting the pathology department, which puzzled him initially: How could a “bone plumber” dare to examine specimens and look through a microscope?

The persistence of this character piqued Donato’s curiosity. He observed, with intrigue, that only two conditions seemed to be diagnosed in the field of orthopedics, as the specimens received were often diagnosed either as osteomyelitis or osteosarcoma. No one dissected or studied the amputation specimens in a rigorous manner.

At that time, the Department of Pathology was located on the top floor of the Central Laboratory, and the phenomenon that was Bartolomeu insisted on studying those specimens, invading Maffei’s sanctuary daily.

In 1958, Huppert Sissons, a pathologist from the Royal Institute of London with a special dedication to bone pathology, visited the hospital.

This visitor spent four weeks frequenting the Departments of Pathology and Orthopedics, closely followed by Donato de Próspero. They became close friends and corresponded for years. From then on, Donato de Próspero began to invade Bartolomeu Bartolomei’s space, becoming a regular attendee at orthopedic meetings and requesting permission from the department to archive the X-rays that interested him. The study of this rich material was shared with radiologist Alfonso Vitule.

The collection of X-rays gathered by Donato de Próspero became a valuable archive that is still under the custody of the current Orthopedic Oncology Group. This concern with documentation was crucial for the knowledge and growth of the specialty, which is now compiled in the book “Bone Tumors” by Editora Rocca.

At that time, X-rays, when stored at all, were kept in the trunks of Bartolomeu Bartolomei’s three Ford Galaxy cars; he was a true magician.

In 1963, Elio Consentino completed his training in orthopedics and began his professional career at Santa Casa de São Paulo, where he worked alongside Bartolomeu and Donato. Later, they would create the Bone Tumor Group, initiating the training of numerous orthopedic surgeons in the specialty of orthopedic oncological surgery.

In 1970, this group of bone pathology enthusiasts received a visit from Fritz Schajowicz, who invited José Donato de Próspero to join the select group of nine pathologists from different nations who would develop the International Classification of Bone Tumors at the request of the World Health Organization.

In the following years, many letters, exchanges of slides, and meetings took place to conclude the work, and in 1978, the WHO Classification was published.

Throughout all these years, orthopedic meetings continued to be held, now divided into specialty subgroups. In 1994, Pedro Péricles Ribeiro Baptista took over the leadership of the Orthopedic Oncology Group.

Doctors Claudia Kazue Yamaguchi, Hea Yung Yo, Guinel Hernandez Filho, and Abdalla Youssef Skaf from radiology, José Donato de Próspero and Maria Fernanda Carriel Amary from pathology, Cássio Perleizzon from radiotherapy, Schlomon Lewin and Akemi Ogawa from nuclear medicine, Andréa Basta from physiotherapy, Pedro Péricles Ribeiro Baptista, Alex Guedes, and Eduardo Ribeiro Adriano, among others, actively participated in the Multidisciplinary Team, attending the anatomical-clinical meetings held every Wednesday from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM.

Several doctors contributed to the strengthening of this Group, and many completed their training through six-month to one-year internships.

The following doctors trained at the institution and contributed to orthopedic oncology: Bartolomeu Bartolomei (1954-1973 SP), Elio Consentino (1975–2006 SP), Teruo Yoneda (1979–1981 SP), Eduardo Salim Haddad Filho (1981–1982 SP), Javier Perez Torres (1982–1985 Colombia), Moisés Cohen (1983-1984 SP), Pedro Péricles Ribeiro Baptista (1983–2015 SP), Valter Pena (1983-1984 SP), Reynaldo Jesus-Garcia Filho (1985-1985 SP), Paulo Alencar (1985-1985 PR), Eduardo Bertacchi Uvo (1986-1986 ES), Paulo Taniguchi (1986-1986 Ba), José Custódio de Moura (1987-1987 SP), Gilbert Sotomayor Alvear (1988-1989 Ecuador), Maria Guadalupe Repper (1988-1988 Mexico), Ernesto Luiz Michanie (1989-1990 Argentina), Carlos Henrique Ribeiro do Prado (1991-1991 GO), Marcos Hajime Tanaka (1991-1993 SP), Alejandro Enzo Cassone (1992-1992 SP), Cláudio Luiz Wanderley Saab (1993-1993 MS), Julio Cesar Goyano (1993-1993 GO), Lucíola Assunção Alves (1993-1993 MA), Florindo Volpe Neto (1994-1996 RS), Giancarlo Polesello (1995-1995 PR), Marcos Sanmartin Fernandez (1996-1996 Spain), Rogério de Andrade Amaral (1997-1997 GO), Alex Guedes (1998-1999 BA), Ricardo Fontes Lavieri (1998-1998 SP), Roberto Reggiane (1998-1998 MG), José Augusto Sá Lopes (1998-1998 PI), Ricardo Marzola (2001-2001 SP), Fabrício Lenzi Chiesa (2001-2002), Israel Vargas (2001-2001 Honduras), André Rensi de Mello (2001-2001 SP), Pedro Calabrese (2002-2003 Paraguay), Carlos Arturo Izquierdo (2002-2002 Colombia), Fábio Romualdo (2002-2002 RN), Esdras Fernando Furtado (2002-2003 PB), Adriano Ughini (2003-2003 RS), Aureliano Duarte Bezerra (2003-2003 PE), Érico Raimundo Guimarães Fantini (2003-2003 MG), Rodrigo Pólo da Costa (2003-2003 AM), Eduardo Ribeiro Adriano (2003-2006 SP), Pablo de Andrade Lima Filho (2004-2004 PE), Rafael Monteiro Macedo (2004-2004 TO), Flávio Leão Rabello (2005-2006 GO), Gustavo Henrique Ferreira (2005-2006 MS), Marcelo Rodrigues Alves (2005-2006 RJ), Alexandre Ferracioli Fusão (2006-2007 SC), Daniela Cruvinel Petto (2006-2007 SP), and Leonardo Silva Galloni (2006-2007 RS).