Dr. Anatoly B. Maizel

Maizel, Anatoly B. Professor of Medicine, passed away in his sleep on April 24, 2013, at the age of 96. Anatoly Maizel was born January 21, 1917 in Taganrog (then in the Russian Empire), in the family of a pharmacist. In 1936, he enrolled as a student in the Rostov Medical Institute. During his junior year in college, he married Olga Hosudovskaya. Anatoly graduated with honors June 20, 1941 and was immediately drafted into the Red Army. During the war he served as a combat surgeon in different military units, including one of Red Army's airborne divisions. His wife Olga went to the front as a volunteer and served with him. In 1943 he was appointed chief surgeon of the front-line hospital. During the war, Anatoly performed more than fourteen thousand operations. He treated U.S. pilots wounded during the bombing raids over Germany and Romania. Anatoly received many Soviet military decorations, including the Red Star. In 1945, he was discharged from the Red Army in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After the war he worked as head of surgical department of the hospital in the city of Rostov-on-Don, and performed many emergency surgeries. After he became head of the department of vascular surgery, Anatoly pioneered the treatment of many cardiovascular diseases and pathology of the main arteries. He was one of the first to conduct resection of aneurysms by surgical repair of blood vessels, and implantation of cardiac pacemakers. In the beginning of the 1960s, he created a new strategy for the treatment of obliterating diseases of major blood vessels. He founded the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care at the Kemerovo Medical Institute (now the Kemerovo State Medical Academy). In the middle and late 1960s, Dr. Maizel developed the principles of treatment of patients with crush syndrome. Among his patients at the time were miners injured in mine collapses. Anatoly's novel approach to the treatment of crush injuries saved many lives. In 1966 Professor Maizel organized the department of traumatology, orthopedics and military surgery at the Kemerovo Medical Institute. In 1970, his unit was the first to introduce an artificial heart-lung machine (ALS-2) and ion-exchange resins for the care of patients with crush syndrome. In his later work, Anatoly introduced the clinical practice of surgical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. He initiated the implementation of regional perfusion for treatment of osteomyelitis and frostbite. Anatoly Maizel was the author of three books: "Sketch of the History of Anesthesia" (1958), "The Spontaneous gangrene" (1959), "The Choice of Anesthesia in Surgery" (1962), and numerous articles. He was twice awarded the Medal of Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery, Academy of Sciences of the USSR (in 1966 and 1987). Anatoly not only saved the lives of thousands of patients (during his surgical career, he operated on about 30,000 patients), but also raised a generation of talented students. After retiring, in 1993, Anatoly moved with his wife to America. His wife and companion for over seventy years, Olga Ermolaevna Maizel, died in 2010. In the US, Anatoly was an active member of the American Association of Invalids and Veterans of World War II, and Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America. In 2011, he finished working on the manuscript of a book of memoirs. Anatoly is survived by his daughter Victoria Savich (Michael), granddaughter Tatyana Komogorova (Peter Vorobieff), and great-grandson Svyatoslav. To view information or leave a condolence please visit www.danielsfuneral.com Daniels Family Funeral Services 7601 Wyoming Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 87109 505-821-0010