- Kantrowitz, Adrian
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▪ 2009American heart surgeonborn Oct. 4, 1918, New York, N.Y.died Nov. 14, 2008, Ann Arbor, Mich.was a pioneer in the development of mechanical hearts and other devices to improve heart function. In 1967 he performed the first human heart transplant in the U.S. at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City. Kantrowitz was an adjunct surgeon (1951–55) at Montefiore (N.Y.) Hospital and served (1955–70) in various surgical posts at Maimonides. His innovations in human heart-related technology began early in his medical career. In 1951 he made the first film to show the inside of a beating human heart. He introduced an improved heart-lung machine in 1958, a pacemaker small enough to implant in 1962, and a balloon pump for short-term use after surgery in 1967. Kantrowitz transplanted a human heart into an infant on Dec. 6, 1967, just three days after South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard performed the world's first human heart transplant. Kantrowitz moved to Detroit, where he chaired the department of surgery (1970–75) and the department of cardiovascular surgery (1975–83) at Sinai Hospital. He also served as professor of surgery at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. In 1983 he and his wife, Jean Rosensaft Kantrowitz, founded L.VAD Technology, a research firm that focused on developing new cardiovascular devices. The American Society of Artificial Internal Organs presented Kantrowitz with a lifetime achievement award in 2001.
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Universalium. 2010.
