Professor Mirosława Narkiewicz (1931–2017) – biographical note

Mirosława Narkiewicz (maiden name: Broda) was born on 19th September 1931 in Łuck (Volhynia region, today in the Ukraine). She started her education in 1938, and during the war continued it in clandestine classes. She lived in her family town until 1943, then moved to Mościce near Tarnów, and from July 1945 she lived in Sopot with her parents and two younger brothers: Henryk and Zbigniew. She continued learning in a gymnasium, and then in Maria Skłodowska-Curie High School in Sopot, and after graduation in 1949, she began studies on the Medical Faculty of the Medical Academy in Gdańsk [2]. As a second-year student, she was employed as a demonstrator in the Department of Normal Anatomy led by Prof. Michał Reicher (Fig. 1). In July 1954, she obtained the medical diploma (medical authorisation no. 887/54). After graduating, Mirosława Narkiewicz continued working in the Department of Anatomy as a junior assistant, focusing on the anatomy of the circulatory system in her academic pursuits. In 1954, she became a member of the Polish Anatomical Society. In the years 1954–1961, she worked also part time in the Clinic of Paediatric Surgery led by Prof. Romuald Sztaba. In October 1961, she obtained the second degree of specialisation in paediatric surgery. Her skills in paediatric surgery were later to become a great asset during the creation of a department dealing with congenital heart diseases in children. In January 1953, she married Olgierd Narkiewicz and took his surname. Soon, a son, Krzysztof, was born into the family. In 1964, Mirosława Narkiewicz earned the academic degree of Doctor of Medicine on the basis of an exam and an experimental dissertation: “Results of ligation of vena cava inferior above the renal veins in cats”. The aim of the study was to evaluate the possibility of formation of collateral circulation, and to analyse the types of renal function disorders and changes in the vena cava inferior after its ligation above the ostia of the renal veins. In 1961, Mirosława Narkiewicz started working in the 2nd Surgical Clinic of the Medical Academy of Gdańsk (AMG) headed by Prof. Kazimierz Dębicki. Professor Dębicki, an eminent surgeon who initiated the development of cardiac surgery in Gdańsk, in 1960 passed the leadership of the cardiac surgery subdepartment to Ass. Prof. Stanisław Sokół [3]. It was under his supervision that Mirosława Narkiewicz gained her first experiences in cardiac surgery. After the sudden, premature death of Stanisław Sokół in 1968, Dr. Narkiewicz became the leader of the team, performing cardiac surgery procedures in controlled hypothermia in children. Controlled hypothermia was then achieved using a rubber suit designed by Dr. Karol Oppeln-Bronikowski, the leader of the anaesthesiological team. At that time, the hospital could not perform cardiac surgery procedures using extracorporeal circulation due to the lack of appropriate equipment, but performed the whole scope of procedures which did not require perfusion. In 1970 (by a fortunate coincidence, as Prof. Narkiewicz often mentioned later), she had an opportunity to go for an internship in cardiac surgery in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis (OLVG) Hospital in Amsterdam, supervised by the pioneer of Dutch cardiac surgery, Prof. Professor Mirosława Narkiewicz (1931–2017) – biographical note