Sofia Ionescu

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Sofia Ionescu-Ogrezeanu (25 April 1920 – 21 March 2008) was a Romanian neurosurgeon and is considered one of the first female neurosurgeons in the world.[1]

Early life

Ionescu was born in Fălticeni, Suceava, daughter of Constantin Ogrezeanu and Maria Ogrezeanu. She only weighed 2.2 lb at birth, and had unusually long fingers that helped her through her career. Her father wanted her to be young lady and housewife.

Ionescu's interest in medicine began after she met one of her best friends Aurelia Dumitru, and her father Dr. Dumitru. The death of one of her school friends, who died in Paris due to an infection after brain surgery, impelled Ionescu to apply to medical school.

Education

Supported by her mother, she applied to medical school in Bucharest in 1939. In her first internship year, she studied ophthalmology. Another year, she spent in Suceava at a poorly-equipped clinic during a typhus epidemic. In one of the school breaks she volunteered to take care of Soviet prisoners at Stamate Hospital in Fălticeni, her home-town. She entered the surgical service of the hospital, doing her first surgical operations, mostly amputations.

On 15 October 1943, when she became an intern at Hospital Nr. 9 in Bucharest. In the neurological clinic established by Dr. Bagdasar, she would meet Ionel Ionescu, who later became her husband.

Career

She was a neurosurgeon for 47 years at Hospital Nr. 9, forming an extraordinary team with Ionel Ionescu, and Constantin Arseni, under the guidance of Dimitrie Bagdasar. They formed the first neurological team of Romania, later called “The golden team”, which helped develop neurosurgery in Romania.

In 1970, the favorite wife of the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi had become ill. As a man could not enter the harem, they needed to find a female doctor. Ionescu stayed one week at the woman’s side and cured her. As a reward the sheik gave her 2,000 dollars [2] and an expensive piece of jewelry. The money she had to give to the state and the jewelry was lost by her daughter.

References

  1. ↑ "Fălticeneanca Sofia Ionescu-Ogrezeanu a murit, la 88 de ani". Monitorul. Retrieved 2 August 2011. 
  2. ↑ "Interview with Sofia Ionescu-Ogrezeanu". TVR. 

Further reading

External links

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