Robert S. Neuwirth

Dr. Robert S. Neuwirth
Born July 11, 1933
Flora Park, New York
Died December 17, 2013
Newark, New Jersey
Residence New York City, Tampa, Florida, Englewood, New Jersey
Education Yale University, Yale School of Medicine, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center
Known for Innovations in gynecologic endoscopy, real estate investments throughout the United States
Children Five, including Jessica Neuwirth

Dr. Robert S. Neuwirth (July 11, 1933[1] - December 17, 2013) was an American gynecologist who devoted his career to crafting and refining noninvasive practices promoting women's health. He was one of the first doctors to employ endoscopy in gynecological practice, in which a small optical instrument called an endoscope is used to examine areas tucked deep into the body. He is known as the first doctor to introduce laparoscopy to the United States, in 1968. He is also known for his work in the pharmaceutical industry and major commercial real estate investments.

From 1974 to 1991, Dr. Neuwirth acted as chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan, at which time he published a critical analysis of the gynecological uses of hysteroscopy. In 1977 he was appointed as the first Babcock Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University. During that tenure, he served as an examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology from 1982 to 1998.

Using money inherited from his father's small real estate fortune, Dr. Neuwirth founded GynoTech Laboratories in 1988 out of the Columbia University medical school. Neuwirth personally secured over ninety patents on behalf of the company. The company was purchased in 1994 by Johnson & Johnson for $90 million. Neuwirth continued to devise further medical procedures and many of his independently-created products were later sold to Johnson & Johnson, as well. His net worth at death is estimated to exceed $140 million. His estate and children, forming a family company, continue to control the patents, dozens of royalties, and significant commercial property holdings throughout the country. Like Neuwirth, the family is incredibly private.

Neuwirth continued to work closely with Yale School of Medicine as an academic advisor and Yale College as a prominent alumnus until his death.

Dr. Neuwirth contributed to at least 55 medical journals and publications in his lifetime.[2]

Gynecologic endoscopy

One of Dr. Neuwirth's greatest priorities was lessening the need for hysterectomy, a common gynecological surgical procedure that removes the uterus while often posing significant risks of infection and other severe complications.

The surgical discipline of gynecological endoscopy, which Dr. Neuwirth pioneered, utilizes optical instruments to help diagnose common female-specific disorders and pathologies, including but not limited to infertility and vaginal hemorrhaging. Gynecological endoscopy is performed using at least one of two methods: hysteroscopy and laparoscopy.

Dr. Neuwirth is credited as the first doctor to introduce laparoscopy to the United States in 1968, authoring several research articles on laparosopic sterilization and ovarian biopsies. In 1969 he introduced hysteroscopy to the American gynecological community and authored a monograph on the technique in 1974. In 1976, Dr. Neuwirth developed resectoscopic surgery of submucous fibroids, arguably the most important development in modern gynecology.[3] The technique enabled doctors to minimize uterine perforation.

In 1992, Dr. Neuwirth authored the first report on long-term outcome of menstrual function following hysteroscopic endometrial ablation, a treatment for abnormal uterine bleeding. He is also the inventor of balloon endometrial ablation.

Selected works

  • Hysteroscopy (Major problems in obstetrics and gynecology), 1975

References

  1. ↑ Yardley, William (2013-12-29). "Dr. Robert Neuwirth, a Pioneering Gynecologist, Dies at 80". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
  2. ↑ "Dr. Robert S. Neuwirth Hospital Affiliations, Awards and Credentials, Obstetrician & Gynecologist, New York, NY". Vitals. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
  3. ↑ Reidy, John (2014). Radiological Interventions in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Springer. p. 119. ISBN 3642279759.
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