William Imon Norwood 1941–2020

摘要

With deep regret and sorrow we are bidding farewell to a great human being: the world-renowned pediatric cardiac surgeon, William Imon Norwood, an academic and an ingenious master of surgery of the heart. Words of farewell are offered by us, cardiac surgeons from Krakow and the whole of Poland together with pediatric cardiac surgeons from all corners of the world. Everywhere where pediatric cardiac surgeons are active, on all continents, everywhere where physicians care for newborns with severe cardiac defects, the name of this great virtuoso of surgical techniques is well known and uttered with awe and respect. His output and innovative solutions have distinctly and permanently affected the development of cardiac surgery. The Norwood procedure he devised is quintessential among his lifetime achievements, being an accomplishment resulting from several decades of development. Today the procedure is an indicator of the mode of functioning of a cardiac surgical centre, thus placing high demands on medical teams.