Robert Edward Gross

Robert Edward Gross (July 2, 1905 – October 11, 1988) was an American surgeon and a medical researcher. He performed early work in pediatric heart surgery at Boston Children's Hospital. Gross was president of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The National Academies Press called him "one of America's great pioneers of surgery". The New York Times said that he did "pioneering work in the field of cardiac surgery". According to his obituary in the New York Times, in 1938 Gross "performed the first surgical correction of one of the most common congenital heart disorders in children", referring to the ligation of the patent ductus. Ten years later he performed the first surgery to graft artery tissue from one person into another, thus making a leap in methods of repairing of damaged arteries. He also developed a method of cutting into a heart with a use of a plastic well that allowed to avoid a catastrophic loss of blood. Gross was a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He was also Surgeon-in-chief, cardiovascular surgery, Children's Hospital, Boston. Gross was a founder of the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He also was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a board member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Society of University Surgeons. In 1941 he coauthored "Abdominal Surgery of Infancy and Childhood" with Dr.William E Ladd. The book is considered a classic in surgical literature. Gross was elected to the American Pediatric Hall of Fame. The National Academies Press said that he "made many contributions that have altered the practice and understanding of surgery, pediatrics, and cardiology throughout the world".

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