Brief Chronology

  • 1918 --Born October 4 in New York City to Bernard Abraham and Rose Kantrowitz
  • 1940 --Received BA in mathematics from New York University
  • 1943 --Received MD from Long Island College of Medicine
  • 1944 --Completed nine-month internship at Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn, New York; published first paper
  • 1944-46 --Served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps as a battalion surgeon; discharged as a major
  • 1947 --Assistant Resident in Surgery at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York
  • 1948 --Married Jean Rosensaft November 25
  • 1948-50 --Assistant Resident in Surgery and Pathology, then Cardiovascular Research Fellow, then Chief Resident in Surgery at Montefiore Hospital in New York
  • 1951-52 --USPHS Fellow in Cardiovascular Research in the Department of Physiology at Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland
  • 1951-55 --Adjunct Surgeon at Montefiore Hospital
  • 1955-64 --Director of Cardiovascular Surgery and Director of Surgical Research at Maimonides Hospital (later Maimonides Medical Center) in New York
  • 1955-70 --Attending Surgeon at Maimonides Hospital
  • 1955-70 --Assistant Professor, then Associate Professor, then Professor of Surgery at State University of New York (SUNY) College of Medicine
  • 1964-70 --Director of Surgery at Maimonides Hospital
  • 1966 --Implanted first left ventricle assist device (LVAD) in two patients
  • 1967 --Performed world's second human heart transplant, December 6
  • 1968 --Began human trials with intraaortic balloon pump (IABP)
  • 1970-75 --Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Sinai Hospital
  • 1970-2008 --Clinical Professor of Surgery at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan
  • 1970-2008 --Attending Surgeon in Cardiovascular/Thoracic Surgery at Sinai Hospital of Detroit, Michigan
  • 1971 --Implanted dynamic aortic patch LVAD in series of three patients
  • 1975-83 --Chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Sinai Hopsital
  • 1978-93 --Director of Surgical Research at Sinai Hospital
  • 1983-2008 --Co-Founder and President of L. VAD Technology, Inc.
  • 2008 --Died, November 14, age 90, from complications of heart failure