Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with October 27.

Events

1984 – “Baby Fae,” a 12-day-old infant with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, received a baboon-to-human heart transplant at Loma Linda University performed by Leonard Bailey. A landmark (and highly controversial) early test of xenotransplantation. The graft initially functioned, but she died 21 days later from rejection-related complications.

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Births

1895 – Ivor Lewis (1895–1982), Welsh surgeon; described the Ivor Lewis procedure (1946)

1937 – Selma Ann Myhre (1937-2012) was an American pediatrician; described Myhre syndrome (1981)

1940 – Petr Skrabanek (1940-1994) was a Czech-born, Irish practicing physician; defined Schooliosis as a form of medical misdiagnosis

1900 – Sir Peter James Kerley (1900-1979), Irish radiologist; described Kerley lines – Types A, B and C (1933 and 1951)

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Deaths

1912 – Paul Ferdinand Segond (1851-1912), French Orthopaedic Surgeon; described Segond fracture (1879)

1929 – Théodore-Marin Tuffier (1857-1929), French surgeon; described Tuffier’s line (1900), Tuffier inhaler (1905) as well as Spinal anaesthesia, rachicocaïnisation and the Tuffier needle

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Further reading

• Stafford N. Leonard L Bailey: in 1984 he transplanted a baboon heart into a human infant known as “Baby Fae”. BMJ 2019;366:l4669
• Baby Fae and Baby Moses. Loma Lindy University