“It Will Work”: The Story of Nina Starr Braunwald and the First Successful Mitral Valve Replacement

Abstract

Cardiothoracic surgery is a clinical and scientific discipline that has evolved enormously over the last decades. Cardiac problems that were historically death sentences can now be addressed with approaches that only continue to improve. In the late 1950s, while cardiothoracic surgery was still a nascent field, Nina Starr Braunwald emerged as a pioneer for this exponential improvement. As the first woman cardiac surgeon in an era in which general surgery and surgical specialties were dominated by men, Dr Braunwald not only made revolutionary contributions to cardiothoracic surgery, but also did so while balancing roles as a dedicated mother and supportive partner.