Posted on 03/07/2004 7:00:33 PM PST by nuconvert
Dr. Harold Kletschka - Dead
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Dr. Harold Kletschka, a cardiac surgeon who pioneered a heart pump now commonly used in open-heart surgery, died Saturday after a stroke, said his friend and biographer, David Racer. He was 79.
In the 1960s Kletschka developed the Bio-Pump, a heart pump now sold by Medtronic. The external pump circulates blood during surgery.
As an Air Force surgeon, Kletschka developed the idea for the centrifugal heart pump in the 1950s while watching an orange juicer in a San Francisco diner, his friend said.
Kletschka held several medical patents and most recently was working on an angioplasty device.
He practiced in Minnesota, New York, California, Texas and Alabama. He returned to Minnesota in about 1970 and was a founder and CEO of Bio-Medicus Inc., set up to develop and manufacture the heart pump.
Kletschka was in the Air Force Reserves from 1955 to 1975 and worked at Veterans Administration medical centers. From 1978 to 1990 he was a consultant at Brainerd Regional Human Services Center.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.