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Frederick Cross '42 to Receive Honorary Doctor of Science Degree
Frederick Cross
Frederick Cross '42, one of the first generation of open-heart surgeons, is also among its pioneers. He codeveloped the Kay-Cross Rotating Disk Oxygenator--commonly known as the heart-lung machine--used on the earliest successful open-heart surgery performed in the Midwest, at Cleveland's St. Vincent Charity Hospitals, in 1956. Before the invention of this machine, surgeons were not able to open the chambers of a living heart--brain death from a lack of oxygen during the procedure was a serious threat. The Kay-Cross pump oxygenator assumed the duties of the heart and the lungs, thus revolutionizing cardiac surgery.
Cross also contributed to the development of artificial heart valves. The Cross-Jones caged lens mitral valve was one of the first low-profile valves to be used in the replacement of damaged valves in heart surgery. In addition, his work cooling the heart with special solutions during open-heart surgery is credited with lowering mortality rates.
Cross was director of the department of surgery at St. Luke's Hospital in Cleveland from 1956 to 1982, head of its division of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery from 1956 to 1988, and professor of surgery at Case Western Reserve University from 1973 to 1991.
Among his honors and awards are the Distinguished Service Award from the American Heart Association, Northeast Ohio Affiliate, and the Distinguished Member Award from the Academy of Medicine of Cleveland.
Cross received an A.B. degree in premedicine from Oberlin in 1942, an M.D. degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1945, and a Ph.D. degree in surgery from the University of Minnesota in 1953. His wife, Priscilla Baker Cross '43, and two of his five children are Oberlin graduates, and his granddaughter, Jocelyn Jungers, will graduate from Oberlin this year. Professor and Chair of Biology Yolanda Cruz will present Cross for the honorary doctor of science degree.
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