The Early Years

Doctor Joseph Ozinsky was the doyen of cardiac anesthesiologists in South Africa and was the lead anesthesiologist of Louis Washkansky during the world’s first heart transplant. Due to this operation being the first of its kind, the praise wasn’t on the anesthetics, but rather his skills and talent.

Dr Ozinsky, known simply as Ozzie, was born on the first of January 1927 to Polish parents. He arrived in South Africa at the age of 6 months, as his parents fled the anti-Semitic dictatorship in Lithuania. They eventually settled in Maitland. He was educated at the reputable private school, SACS, where he was a Queen Victoria Scholar. He graduated high school at the age of 15.

Joseph continued his education at the medical school of the University of Cape Town as a SACS memorial scholar. He graduated with an MBChB in 1949, which was followed by his registrar training in anesthesia at Groote Schuur in Cape Town, as well as King Edward VII Hospital in Durban

 

Career & Family

In 1955 he traveled to the United Kingdom, where he worked at Barnet General Hospital in London, working as a registrar.

While in England, he obtained the DA, RCP & S(Eng), DA (Ireland), and FFARCS (Ireland). In 1955, he returned from England and initially worked at The Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, as well as Groote Schuur Hospital. Dr. Ozinsky eventually moved from being a specialist to chief specialist in the field of Anesthesiology.

While working at Groote Schuur hospital, he met and ultimately fell in love with Maria Rautenbach. The couple married in 1961. They had two sons together, one being Max Ozinsky, a former provincial chief whip for the ANC.

When Chris Barnard returned from Minnesota in 1958, Ozinsky became the chief of cardiac anesthesiology for the heart transplant team. By the end of 1967, they had performed over a thousand bypass surgeries. He was also responsible for heading the team during the initial research on animals and dogs in the laboratories.

Part of the Team

Thanks to his extensive experience and knowledge, Dr. Ozinsky was part of the first heart transplant team. The importance of his role has truly been downplayed in history. Doctor Oz was responsible for keeping the patient, Louis Washkansky, alive and stable during the transplant procedure. Due to the nature of this surgery being the first-ever, the success was down to the skill of Dr. Ozinsky, rather than the anesthesia itself. He was assisted by Dr Cecil Moss, and resident Dr David Walker.

After this great success, he received many accolades and awards. In 1968, he received a gold medal for Meritorious Services in Anesthesiology, by the SA Society of Anesthesiology, which was presented by the State President, JJ Fouche.

He continued his work as head of his department at Groote Schuur hospital for more than 40 years, training and teaching young prospective doctors. In 1990, he received an Ad Hominem associate professorship. He was appointed as head of clinical services at the University’s Department of Anesthesia, where he administered the day-to-day running of the department

The Later Years

He played an instrumental role in the modernization of Groote Schuur in 1989, instrumenting the layouts of the surgery theatres, as well as the purchasing and use of new machinery. Although he officially retired as chief of the cardiothoracic anesthesiologist in 1992, he still remained a lecturer and administrator at the Hospital till 2001.

His imperturbable temper and dry sense of humor was the perfect mixture for the diffuse of situations as well as handling the most prima donna of surgeons, such as his co-worker, Prof Barnard.

In 1977, while engaged in an academic meeting, Dr. Oz suffered from the first of several severe strokes. These strokes affected him drastically later in life. It also woke temporary hemiparesis and aphasia.

Sadly, maria Ozinsky passed away in 2011, which led to Joseph Ozinsky retrieving from the public eye. He enjoyed spending time with his dogs and took frequent holidays at the seaside town of Stilbaai.

He passed away on the 15 August 2017 at the age of 90 in Cape Town. Leaving behind his two sons, Max and Adrian, as well as several grandchildren.