Dan Gavriliu

Dan Gavriliu (April 26, 1915 in Brăila — November 4, 2012){{cite journal | url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00268-013-1994-9 | doi=10.1007/s00268-013-1994-9 | title=Dan Gavriliu (1915–2012), the Patriarch of Romanian Surgery, Dies at 97 | date=2013 | last1=Tarcoveanu | first1=Eugen | last2=Vasilescu | first2=Alin | last3=Dorobat | first3=Dumitru | last4=Romanec | first4=Cristian | journal=World Journal of Surgery | volume=37 | issue=5 | pages=1174–1175 | pmid=23479101 | url-access=subscription }} was a Romanian surgeon who performed the first total surgical replacement of the human esophagus, using sections of stomach to bypass damaged or deformed tissue.[https://archive.today/20120731135155/http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/03/16/loc_heimlich16.html Heimlich falsely claims he invented surgical procedure - Romanian replaced esophagus years before], from The Cincinnati Enquirer, by Robert Anglen; published March 16, 2003; retrieved April 27, 2012.

Gavriliu first performed the operation on April 20, 1951;[http://www.whonamedit.com/synd.cfm/3114.html Gavrilu's operation] at Who Named It?, by Ole Daniel Enersen; retrieved April 27, 2012 it was the first successful replacement of a human organ. After describing his procedure in the scientific literature,Dan Gavriliu and Leonida Georgescu:

Esofagoplastie directã cu material gastric (anastomozã eso.gastricã).

Rivista Stiintelor Medicale, June 1951, 3: 33-36. however, Gavriliu did not write extensively about his research, as he could not afford to pay the publication fees.[http://www.tefvater.org/esophageal/historyofesophagealreplacement.html History of Esophageal Replacements] at TEF/VATER International, by Greg Burke; retrieved April 27, 2012.