Highlights of the Department of Surgery at the University of Iowa include its founding and key individuals, notable innovations and medical advancements, the introduction of new surgical programs, major expansions in facilities and staff, and modern-era achievements.

  • 1870

    1870

    The University of Iowa Medical Department begins offering classes in medical education. Eight physicians served as the faculty—including Washington Freeman Peck, who served as dean and chair of surgery.

  • 1873

    1873

    Patient care service begins in collaboration with the Sisters of Mercy Catholic order.

  • 1898

    1898

    A new University Hospital opens—the first university-based teaching hospital west of the Mississippi.

  • 1919

    1919

    A children’s hospital opens west of the Iowa River.

  • 1928

    1928

    The seven-story, 900-bed General Hospital opens—firmly establishing a westside medical campus and marking the beginning of UI Hospitals & Clinics.

  • 1956

    1956

    Johann Ehrenhaft develops one of the first heart-lung machines to circulate, oxygenate, and filter blood during open heart surgery procedures.

  • 1967

    1967

    Edward Mason describes gastric bypass surgery as a treatment for morbid obesity, ushering in the modern era of bariatric surgery.

  • 1969

    1969

    Richard Lawton performs Iowa’s first kidney transplant procedure. Lawton also performs the first kidney dialysis in Iowa (in 1957 at the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center). Lawton later establishes the Iowa Donor Network.

  • 1979

    1979

    The first pancreas transplant in Iowa is led by faculty members Robert Corry, Dai Nghiem, and James Schulak—paving the way for the development of liver and pancreas transplant programs at Iowa in early 1980s.

  • 1980

    1980

    Edward Mason and colleagues develop one of the most common surgical treatments for severe obesity, known as vertical banded gastroplasty.

  • 1984

    1984

    The university establishes the unique Undergraduate Scholar Assistantship Program, which permits top undergraduates to do research with senior faculty.

  • 1984

    1984

    First liver transplant at Iowa. The transplant team is led by faculty members Robert Corry, Dai Nghiem, and James Schulak.

  • 1985

    1985

    First heart transplant at Iowa. The heart transplant team is led by faculty members Loren Hiratzka, Ronald Meng, and Maryl Johnson.

  • 1987

    1987

    A 7-day-old infant receives a heart transplant, performed by Doug Behrendt, as Iowa’s first pediatric heart transplant procedure.

  • 1988

    1988

    David Kapelanski performs the first lung transplant and heart-lung transplant procedure in Iowa.

  • 1992

    1992

    Youmin Wu performs Iowa’s first pediatric liver transplant.

  • 1995

    1995

    Carol E.H. Scott-Conner—the second female head of a surgery department in the United States—arrives at Iowa.

  • 1996

    1996

    UI Health Care’s Burn Treatment Center is verified by the American Burn Association. The center is one of 77 nationwide, and the only one in Iowa, to earn this distinction.

  • 1997

    1997

    The American College of Surgeons designates UI Health Care as a Level 1 Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center, one of three in the state of Iowa.

  • 2005

    2005

    John Meehan performs a minimally invasive robotic surgery to repair a congenital diaphragmatic hernia on a 6-day-old Iowa girl. At the time, the child is the smallest patient in the world to undergo a robotic surgery procedure.

  • 2018

    2018

    Ronald J. Weigel is elected to the National Academy of Medicine. The academy elects no more than 70 national and 10 international members annually.

  • 2018

    2018

    Mohammad Bashir performs the first minimally invasive, catheter-based tricuspid valve repair in Iowa.

  • 2022

    2022

    UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital is named a Level 1 Pediatric Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons. At the time, only 42 children’s hospitals nationwide had received this designation.