Birthday: October 4, 1918 (Libra)
Born In: New York
Adrian Kantrowitz
(Cardiac Surgeon)
Dr. Adrian Kantrowitz was an eminent surgeon and a pioneer in the field of pediatric cardiology. He and his team of surgeons performed the world’s first pediatric heart transplant at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn on December 6, 1967. This surgery happened in America just three days after the first ever human heart transplant took place in South Africa, performed by Dr. Christiaan Barnard. Thus Kantrowitz is credited with performing the world’s second ever human heart transplant. The fact that he became one of the greatest ever cardiologists of his time would not have come as a surprise to those who knew him. According to his mother, little Adrian knew from the age of three that he wanted to be a doctor. After completing his medical studies he served in the Army for a couple of years before delving deep into the field of cardiology. He had spent years studying the human heart and had performed several heart transplants on dogs before performing the heart surgery that would usher in a new era in human organ transplants. Working along with his brother Arthur, he also invented the intra-aortic balloon pump which served as the precursor to the implantable pacemaker.
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