1948

In December, working out of Brooklyn Jewish Hospital, where he was chief of surgery, Berlin surgeon Rudolf Nissen operates on Albert Einstein for an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta the size of a grapefruit (4” diameter). Absent prosthetic tubing, he wrapped the aneurysm in cellophane, on the theory that it would stimulate a connective tissue reaction, leading to formation of scar tissue that would strengthen the thick wall of the distended artery and perhaps postpone rupture for some time. Einstein lived another seven years in Princeton, dying in April 1955, when he refused further surgery (Van de Laar, ch 15).