Background
Miguel Sarrias Domingo was born in Barcelona on 19 January 1930, and he qualified in medicine and surgery at the University of Barcelona in 1955.
Miguel Sarrias Domingo was born in Barcelona on 19 January 1930, and he qualified in medicine and surgery at the University of Barcelona in 1955.
Between 1958 and 1961 he studied under Doctor Josep Trueta, professor of orthopedic surgery in Oxford, where he specialized in orthopedic surgery and traumatology.
In 1964 plans were unnderway for the creation of a hospital dedicated to the treatment of people with paraplegia and quadriplegia, the first of its kind in Spain. Doctor Sarrias was named medical director He spent 7 months at Stoke Mandeville hospital in England studying under Doctor Ludwig Guttmann where he learned the specialized treatment of people with spinal cord lesions.
The new hospital was opened on 27 November 1965 and was named after Doctor Guttmann, as the Spinal Cord Injuries Centre.
Until his retirement in 1997, Doctor Sarrias directed the work of the hospital, bringing it to national importance. of Under his directorship, the Institute advanced the use of the "Barcelona technique" for the implantation of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sacral anterior roots electro stimulation). He developed a programme for the training of new specialists, and he supported the advancement of treatment for people with spinal cord injuries and related academic societies both in Spain and internationally.
He was the Spanish representative of IMSOP (The International Medical Society of Paraplegia), and he was both the initiator and president of Software Engineering Professionals (Spanish Society of Paraplegia).
He was a member of the editorial board of the journal Paraplegia Spinal Cord.