The surgeon who performed the first heart transplant done in the United States has died, as reported by the Associated Press (AP). Dr. Adrian Kantrowitz, passed away due to , was 90 years old.
Born in 1918 in New York City, the doctor was a student of New York University and the Long Island College of Medicine. As stated in the AP report, he entered the cardiac surgery field after serving in the military during World War II.
Kantrowitz pioneered cardiac based surgeries and also developed several medical devices that have been credited with saving lives. Kantrowitz performed the first U.S. human heart transplant on an infant in 1967. He became the second to perform the surgery in the world, with a doctor in South Africa becoming the first three days prior.
A highly noted invention by Dr. Kantrowitz was the left ventricular assist device (LVAD). The name subsequently became one used for naming his research company, L-VAD Technology Inc.
Photo Credit: Patrick J. Lynch
