Henry B.C. Low, MD

Henry B.C. Low, MD, director emeritus, Cardiothoracic Surgery at Hartford Hospital, has received the 2008 Dwight Emary Harken Award from The Mended Hearts, Inc., a nationwide patient support organization for people with heart disease, their families, medical professionals and other interested people. The award recognizes individuals or organizations for excellence in the field of cardiovascular medicine.  Dr. Low is the tenth recipient of the award since its inception in 1991.

 

Following completion of his studies at the School of Medicine, St. John’s University, in Shanghai, China in 1949, Dr. Low completed his extensive postgraduate training in the United States. In 1952, he joined Hartford Hospital’s Medical Staff where he served as a resident in Pathology, followed by a residency in Surgery.

In awarding Dr. Low the Harken Award, Mended Hearts cited Dr. Low’s early endeavors.  “While still a surgical resident in surgery in the early 50s, he introduced vascular surgery to Hartford Hospital when only a few medical centers in the country could offer such therapy. His other notable achievements were performing the first coronary bypass operation in Connecticut, the first successful cardiac transplantation in Connecticut and the first transmyocardial revascularization in Connecticut. For his work in cardiac transplantation, he was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Science degree from University of Hartford in 1987.”

In 1957, Dr. Low trained as a Fellow in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia, and in 1958 joined the U.S. Army, where he served as a captain in the Medical Corp.  In 1960 he resumed his training in cardiothoracic surgery as a Fellow under Dwight E. Harken, MD, in Boston, and in 1961 returned to Hartford Hospital to start his career as a cardiothoracic surgeon.

Dr. Low is certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He is a Fellow of American College of Surgeons. He belongs to numerous surgical and medical societies, locally, nationally and internationally.