Richard Lower (surgeon)
Richard Lower | |
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Born | Medical College of Virginia | August 15, 1929
Richard Rowland Lower (August 15, 1929 – May 17, 2008) was an American pioneer of cardiac surgery, particularly in the field of heart transplantation.[1] Lower was born in Detroit, attended Amherst College, and received his medical degree from Cornell University in 1955.[2] Lower and Norman Shumway developed many of the techniques required to conduct successful heart transplantation, including the use of hypothermia and the orthotopic technique,[3] which became the standard technique for cardiac transplantation.[1]
Initially experimenting on dogs, Lower and Shumway conducted their research at Stanford. Lower left Stanford to head the cardiac program at the
Lower performed over 250 canine heart transplants,[3] and over 800 in humans.[2] He was sued for wrongful death of a donor, which held up his efforts, though he was later exonerated by courts.[1][3] Lower subsequently developed the procedure of sending doctors to remote donor facilities, thus negating the previous requirement of transporting a donor's intact body to the same hospital as the recipient.[2] He also pioneered the use of ciclosporin to prevent transplant rejection, and developed a biopsy technique to monitor rejection.[2] Lower retired in 1989 to Montana, where he raised cattle,[2] though he also volunteered at a Richmond, Virginia medical practice benefitting the poor.[1] He died in 2008 of pancreatic cancer.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Pincock, S. (2008). "Richard Rowland Lower". The Lancet, 372(9640), 712 EP–. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61294-5. Retrieved May 25, 2013
- ^ a b c d e Pearce, J. (May 31, 2008). "Richard Lower Dies at 78; Transplanted Animal and Human Hearts". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g McRae, D. (2007). Every Second Counts. New York.