[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 40 (Monday, April 3, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               A TRIBUTE TO SALVATORE J.A. SCLAFANI, M.D.

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 3, 2006

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Salvatore J.A. 
Sclafani MD, a distinguished member of the Brooklyn community. It 
behooves us to pay tribute to this outstanding leader and I hope my 
colleagues will join me in recognizing his impressive accomplishments.
  Dr. Sclafani received his Bachelor of Science from Fordham University 
in 1968 and undertook his medical education at the Upstate campus of 
SUNY, graduating in 1972. He completed his residency in Diagnostic 
Radiology at Downstate/Kings County in 1976. He is a diplomate of the 
American College of Radiology with a certificate of added 
qualifications in Interventional Radiology.
  Dr. Sclafani is a Fellow of the Society of Interventional Radiology 
and a member of numerous other medical societies. He is a past 
President of the American Society of Emergency Radiology.
  Dr. Sclafani has published more than 150 papers in scientific 
journals and authored or co-authored more than 20 textbooks. He is 
currently the Section editor of Radiology for the Journal of Trauma and 
has served on the editorial boards of the Journal ofInterventional 
Radiology, and Emergency Radiology. Dr. Sclafani has presented at 
almost 200 invitational lectures in the U.S. and has lectured 
extensively on 4 continents. He has taught countless radiologists the 
techniques of Interventional Radiology during his 9 visits to the 
Peoples' Republic of China.
  Dr. Sclafani is recognized for his work in the uses of Radiology in 
traumatized and emergency patients and has either developed techniques 
or set standards for the use of Interventional Radiology in the control 
of hemorrhage after trauma. He is most recognized for his development 
of a method of treating without the use of open surgery patients who 
have sustained a ruptured spleen. Other collaborations have led to an 
awareness of the value of physiological monitoring of the injured 
elderly, a non-operative approach to exsanguinating hemorrhage after 
pelvic fractures and management schemes for vascular injuries of the 
head and neck.
  In 1989, Dr. Sclafani became an honorary police surgeon of the New 
York Police Department after a celebrated ``save'' by Interventional 
Radiology of a patrolman who had sustained a near fatal gunshot wound 
of the internal carotid artery. This event brought national public 
recognition to Kings County Hospital as an innovator in trauma care and 
the techniques were featured in the New York Times Science Section.
  Dr. Sclafani has spent his entire career working among the indigent 
and was honored by the New York Academy of Medicine for his 
contributions to urban health.
  Participating in the Trauma Service of Kings County since 1976, he is 
its senior member. He is currently the Chief of Radiology at Kings 
County Hospital Center and Chairman of the Department of Radiology of 
the Downstate Medical Center where he directs more than thirty 
radiologists and 29 residents. He is also President of the Medical 
Board of Kings County Hospital Center.
  Dr. Sclafani was born and raised in Brooklyn to which he has 
dedicated his entire career. He currently resides in Park Slope, 
Brooklyn with his wife, Georgia Sclafani with whom he raised 2 sons, 
Paul and Ross. He lived in the pediatric examining room of his father, 
Anthony Sclafani, MD in Bensonhurst during the first 4 years of his 
life and lived above the waiting room of his father's office until the 
age of 13. Thus, he considers the hospital his second home and its 
patients his family.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that it is incumbent on this body to recognize 
the accomplishments of Dr. Sclafani, as he offers his talents and 
philanthropic services for the betterment of our local and national 
communities.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Sclafani's selfless service has continuously 
demonstrated a level of altruistic dedication that makes him most 
worthy of our recognition today.

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