Adrian Kantrowitz; Performed First U.S. Heart Transplant

Dr. Kantrowitz graduated from New York University and received a medical degree in 1943 from what is now known as the State University of New York Downstate Medical School.

Interested in neurosurgery, he proposed and, during his internship, published a paper in the early 1940s on a new type of clamp used during intracranial surgery. During World War II, he was a battalion surgeon in the Army Medical Corps. By the time he was discharged in 1946, few training positions were available in neurosurgery, so Dr. Kantrowitz switched to cardiovascular medicine.

From 1948 to 1955, he worked at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx and filmed the first of many pioneering research motion pictures, including a color close-up look inside a living dog's heart while the organ was still inside its chest.

In 1955, he moved to SUNY-Downstate in Brooklyn and became director of cardiovascular surgery at the Maimonides Hospital, positions he held for 15 years.

Described by a friend as an engaging maverick, Dr. Kantrowitz was a pilot, sailor and motorcycle rider.

Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Jean Kantrowitz of Lake Angelus, Mich.; three children, Dr. Niki Kantrowitz of Brooklyn, Dr. Lisa Kantrowitz of Newport Beach, Calif., and Dr. Allen Kantrowitz of Williamstown, Mass.; and nine grandchildren.

After moving to Detroit in 1970, Dr. Kantrowitz and his wife co-founded L.VAD Technology Inc., a research and development company specializing in cardiovascular devices. In 2003, at 85 years old, he was still trying to improve cardiac care, seeking FDA approval for a permanent left ventricular assist device.

"When we first did it, people thought it was silly," Dr. Kantrowitz told Crain's Detroit Business newspaper. "You really don't have a good idea unless people think it's silly."