Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Apr 1;44(2):96-100.
doi: 10.14503/THIJ-16-6048. eCollection 2017 Apr.

Nina Braunwald: A Female Pioneer in Cardiac Surgery

Nikhil Sabharwal, Harmanjit Dev, Hassiba Smail, David C McGiffin, Pankaj Saxena

Nina Braunwald: A Female Pioneer in Cardiac Surgery

Nikhil Sabharwal et al. Tex Heart Inst J. .

Abstract

Nina Starr Braunwald, the first female cardiac surgeon, made headlines during a time when almost all specialty surgeons were men. Women have typically been deterred from entering surgical specialties, in part because of their traditional dual burden of managing their households and careers. Instead, female medical students and junior doctors have tended to be more attracted to medical specialties. This was the reality during Dr. Braunwald's venture into medicine in 1949. However, she never allowed negative ideas to keep her from joining a surgical training program. Under the mentorship of the prominent cardiac surgeons Charles Hufnagel and Andrew Morrow, Dr. Braunwald progressed in her career by conducting research that led to her development and implantation of the first prosthetic mitral valve. She was also a great teacher. Dr. Braunwald balanced her personal and professional activities admirably, and her example still inspires female doctors to consider careers in cardiothoracic surgery. In this report, we provide details of her impact on cardiac surgery and insights into her successes.

Keywords: Braunwald NS; United States; cardiac surgical procedures/history; heart valve prosthesis/history; heart-lung machine; history, 20th century; physicians, women/history; thoracic surgery/history.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Nina Braunwald (far left) and Andrew G. Morrow (far right) performing surgery. (Photograph courtesy of the Office of History, National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine.)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Nina Braunwald in 1963, the year she was certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. (Photograph courtesy of Dr. Eugene Braunwald.)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
A) Nina Braunwald working in her laboratory. B) The Braunwald-Morrow mitral valve. (Photographs courtesy of the Office of History, National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine.)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Nina and Eugene Braunwald with family. (Photograph courtesy of the Office of History, National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Antonoff MB, David EA, Donington JS, Colson YL, Litle VR, Lawton JS, Burgess NL.. Women in thoracic surgery: 30 years of history. Ann Thorac Surg 2016; 101( 1): 399– 409. - PubMed
    1. Waldhausen JA. In memoriam: Nina S. Braunwald, 1928–1992. Ann Thorac Surg 1993; 55( 5): 1055– 6. - PubMed
    1. Hufnagel CA, Villegas PD, Nahas H.. Experiences with new types of aortic valvular prostheses. Ann Surg 1958; 147( 5): 636– 45. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Braunwald NS. It will work: the first successful mitral valve replacement. Ann Thorac Surg 1989; 48( 3 Suppl): S1– 3. - PubMed
    1. Braunwald NS, Cooper T, Morrow AG.. Complete replacement of the mitral valve. Successful clinical application of a flexible polyurethane prosthesis. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1960; 40: 1– 11. - PubMed

Personal name as subject