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 Boston Children's Hospital formerly known as Children's Hospital Boston until 2012 is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care children's hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent both to its teaching affiliate, Harvard Medical Scho ...

. Gross was president of the

American Association for Thoracic Surgery The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) is an international association of cardiothoracic surgeons. It was founded in 1917 by the earliest pioneers in the field of thoracic surgery. Headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, it has over ...

, a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

and a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

Biography

The

National Academies Press The US National Academies Press (NAP) was created to publish the reports issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Research C ...

called him "one of America's great pioneers of surgery". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said that he did "pioneering work in the field of

cardiac surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to corr ...

". According to his obituary in ''

'', 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

. He was also Surgeon-in-chief, cardiovascular surgery, Children's Hospital, Boston. Gross was a founder of the

American Board of Surgery The American Board of Surgery (ABS) is an independent, non-profit organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded for the purpose of certifying surgeons who have met a defined standard of education, training and knowledge. Surgeons certi ...

and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He also was a fellow of the

, a board member of the

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians, headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It maintains its Department of Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Background The Academy was founded ...

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

said that he "made many contributions that have altered the practice and understanding of surgery, pediatrics, and cardiology throughout the world".

Awards and distinctions

*1951 - honorary D.Sc., Carleton College *1959 - M.D., Honoris Causa, Louvain University *1961 - M.D., Honoris Causa, Turin University *1962 - honorary D.Sc., Suffolk University *1963 - honorary D.Sc., University of Sheffield *1984 - honorary D.Sc., Harvard University *1953 - Honorary member, Reno Surgical Society *1955 - Honorary member, Dallas Southern Clinical Society *1956 - Honorary member, Buffalo Surgical Society *1958 - Honorary appointment, American National Red Cross, North Shore chapter *1961 - Honorary fellow, Spokane Surgical Society *1967 - Honorary citation, Barnstable County chapter, Massachusetts Heart Association *1959 - Officer of the Order of Leopold, Belgium *1959 - Honorary officer of the International Red Cross, Belgium *1960 - Honorary member, Pediatric Society of Guatemala *1964 - Honorary member, La Bocedad de Cirurgia Pediatrica de Mexico *1968 - Honorary member, Surgical Infantil Argentina Society *1973 - Honorary fellow, Royal College of Surgeons of England *1954-55 - Director, American Heart Association *1958-60 - Director, American Heart Association *1960 President, Massachusetts Heart Association *1963-64 President, American Association for Thoracic Surgery *1969-70 Board of directors, Massachusetts Heart Association *1970-71 First president, American Pediatric Surgical Association *1940 -

E. Mead Johnson Award The E. Mead Johnson Award, given by the Society for Pediatric Research, was established in 1939 to honor clinical and laboratory research achievements in pediatrics. The awards are funded by Mead Johnson, Mead Johnson Nutritionals, a subsidiary of ...

, American Academy of Pediatrics *1940 - Rudolf Matas Vascular Surgery Award, Tulane University *1954 - Children's Service Award, Toy Manufacturers of America *1954 - Albert Lasker Award, American Public Health Association *1956 - Roswell Park Gold Medal, Buffalo Surgical Society *1957 - Gold Medal, Louisville Surgical Society *1959 - Laeken Award, Brussels, Belgium *1959 - Gold Medal, Detroit Surgical Association *1959 - Albert Lasker Award, American Public Health Association *1959 - Billroth Medal, New York Academy of Medicine *1961 - Gold Medal Award, Golden Slipper Square Club of Philadelphia *1962 - Award of the Brotherhood Temple Ohabei Shalom, Brookline *1965 - William E. Ladd Medal Award, Surgical Section, American Academy of Pediatrics *1965 - Gold Cross, Royal Order of the Phoenix of the Greek Government *1968 - Denis Browne Gold Medal, British Association of Pediatric Surgeons *1969 - Dr. Rodman E. Sheen and Thomas G. Sheen Award, American Medical Association *1970 - Alfred Jurzykowski Medalist, New York Academy of Medicine citation with Dr. Farber and Dr. Neuhauser and the Children's Hospital Medical Center *1970 - Henry Jacob Bigelow Memorial Medal *1971 - Tina Award *1973 - Distinguished Service Medal, American Surgical Association

Education and career

*1927 - B.A., Carleton College *1931 - M.D., Harvard University, Medical School *1934-36, Instructor in pathology, Harvard Medical School *1937-39, Instructor in surgery, Harvard Medical School *1939-40, Junior associate in surgery, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital *1939-42, Associate in surgery, Harvard Medical School *1939-46, Associate visiting surgeon, Children's Hospital, Boston *1940-46, Senior associate in surgery, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital *1942-47, Assistant professor of surgery, Harvard Medical School *1947-88, Ladd Professor of Children's Surgery, Harvard Medical School *1947-67, Surgeon-in-chief, Children's Hospital, Boston *1952, Surgeon-in-chief, pro-tempore, Ohio State University *1967-72, Surgeon-in-chief, cardiovascular surgery, Children's Hospital, Boston

References

External links

Francis D. Moore and Judah Folkman, "Robert Edward Gross", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (1995)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Robert Edward 1905 births 1988 deaths American thoracic surgeons Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences American pediatric surgeons Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Harvard Medical School alumni Harvard Medical School faculty Recipients of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award Carleton College alumni 20th-century surgeons