The condition of Edwin Smith, the youngest baby in SA to undergo open-heart surgery, improves

Date: 21 Sep 1980
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Edwin Smith became the youngest baby in South Africa to undergo open-heart surgery. Edwin was operated at J.G. Strijdom Hospital by Professor Rob Kinsley, head of the hospital’s cardio-thoracic team. The son of Nico and Martha Smith, Edwin was less than a day-old when he suffered from a congenital heart problem which preventing the smooth flow of blood from the heart to the lungs. According to the hospital, the boy turned blue as soon as his mother delivered him. During the three-hour long operation to create the blood flow to the lungs, the boy’s heart congested numerous times.

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01The Cape Times, (22 September, 1980), ‘Condition of heart baby improving’ [Available at the National Library of South Africa, Cape Town Campus] pg 1.

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, September 14). The condition of Edwin Smith, the youngest baby in SA to undergo open-heart surgery, improves. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0068182

South African History Online (2011) 'The condition of Edwin Smith, the youngest baby in SA to undergo open-heart surgery, improves', South African History Online, 14 September. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0068182 (Accessed: 5 October 2026).

South African History Online, The condition of Edwin Smith, the youngest baby in SA to undergo open-heart surgery, improves [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0068182, (accessed 5 October 2026).

"The condition of Edwin Smith, the youngest baby in SA to undergo open-heart surgery, improves." South African History Online, 14 Sept. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0068182. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

South African History Online. "The condition of Edwin Smith, the youngest baby in SA to undergo open-heart surgery, improves." South African History Online. September 14, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0068182.