Jan F. Esser Jan F. Esser Johannes "Jan" Fredericus Samuel Esser (13 October 1877 in Leiden – 9 August 1946 in Chicago) was a Dutch plastic surgeon who pioneered innovative methods of reconstructive surgery on soldiers wounded in the First World War. He is thought to have coined the term "stent" in 1917 to describe his use of a dental impression compound invented in 1856 by the English dentist Charles Stent (1807–1885) to create a form for facial reconstruction. The term "stent" was later extended to mean a device to expand constricted tubes of body tissue. He was a one time Dutch Chess
Charles A. Hufnagel Charles A. Hufnagel Charles A. Hufnagel, M.D. (August 15, 1916 – May 31, 1989) was an American surgeon who in the early 1950s invented the first artificial heart valve. Dr. Hufnagel was born in Louisville, Kentucky and was reared in Richmond, Indiana. His father was also a surgeon. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame and earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. At Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, he began work on the heart and other organ transplants and explored the use of plastic to replace blood vessels, developing a technique called multi-point fixation, which would have great