Un ami nous a quittés : André-Noël DARDENNE

par Th. PUTTEMANS et JF. MOREAU

André Dardenne died a few days ago like he crossed our lives : modestly but heartily. Eulogies are merging up from the francophone uroradiology. They acknowledge a human radiologist deserving to remain inscribed in the history of the discipline because both of the competence and the personality of the individual.

Let me write an homage to André Dardenne in frenglish. Lee B Talner and Alan J Davidson were the closest friends of him on the American side of the Atlantic Ocean and they will edit it conveniently if needed. The first French radiologists who at the earliest supported André Dardenne were those of the Université de Lille chaired by Guy Lemaitre. I met with André Dardenne in 1973 in Madrid, Spain. Both of us were belonging to the new wave of European uroradiologists who exhibited their first opus at the International Congress of Radiology.

All along the 1970 decade I met with him either in France or in Brussels and both of us had become close friends. Both of us participated in the meager European group of GU radiologists who joined the Society of Uroradiology meeting at the Coronado Hotel in San Diego, California, magnificently chaired by Lee B Talner. All of us - Judith Webb, Sven Dorph, Thomas Sherwood, Henrik Thomsen, PGFM van Waës, Jean-Philippe Montagne an I - but André Dardenne were English-speaking. This was the only weakness I ever found in his character. André won the quiz easily despite of the language handicap. At that time, he was the GU #1 in the world and that was recognized in San Diego. I never met a more encyclopedic specialist in diagnostic radiology. Contrary to most of the uroradiologists at that time, he was already practicing all technological investigations including CT, ultrasonography and angiography and he was similarly competent in gynecology and abdominal imaging.

In 1981, André Dardenne was an active officer of the International Congress of Radiology at Brussels. He congregated excellent speakers from all over the world and he worked with Alan J Davidson to feature an excellent scientific and educational GU program. Both San Diego and Brussels meetings enhanced the cooperation between Americans and Europeans within the SUR. Ludovico Dalla Palma had become a close friend of him at that time.

In the 1980ies, André Dardenne joined the French "Club du Rein" which was the core group at the origin of the GU program at the International Congress of Radiology ICR'89 in Paris then the Société d'Imagerie Génito-urinaire (SIGU) created in 1990 by Annick Pinet. Once again the reason why his name does not appear lightly in the history of the European Society of Uroradiology (ESUR) founded in 1991 relies in his lack of English-speaking ability.

GU imaging has become a strong subspecialty because of the pioneers who did excellent clinical cares, generous educational programs, fruitful research. One of these was André Dardenne. Homage with friendship and respect to a great man. Requiescat in peace !

Jean-François Moreau

Ancien Président de la SFAUMB.