Meet Tony: At 14 he invented a surgical technique and will soon be a neurosurgeon
By Nigel Boys
An African American freshman at the Darnell-Cookman Middle/High School of Medical Arts, in Jacksonville, Fla., has a bright future ahead of him. At 14-year old he has already come up with a surgical technique that may help surgeons reduce the risk of complications when performing surgical operations.
The young medical genius, Tony Hansberry II, reviewed various techniques of several surgeries, including hysterectomies and the instruments to perform these operations. He came up with a novel idea to be used when stitching back up the patients. The idea will help surgeons, especially those with fewer surgeries under their belt.
Hansberry came up with this idea back in 2009, when he was still a student at the Florida school, writes Jackie Jones for BlackAmericaWeb.com.
The young medical genius, who was encouraged to take up advanced classes in medicine at the Darnell-Cookman School, said that he came up with the idea because he wanted to help the patients and the surgeons.
He added that his ambition was to become a well respected and competent neurosurgeon.
According to Jones, the 14-year-old medical student came up with the novel idea to help surgeons and patients alike when he was studying at Shands Hospital, Jacksonville, while enrolled at the University of Florida’s Center for Simulation Education and Safety Research.
Jones says that Hansberry’s new technique will allow surgeons to complete their operations by stitching the patients back up after having a hysterectomy in one third of the time that it would normally take them. She adds that he perfected his technique by practicing on a medical dummy.
According to Angela Ten-broeck, lead medical teacher at the University of Florida, Hansberry is far advanced compared to his classmates, when it comes to surgical techniques. She adds that she would put him on par with a first-year medical student at any university and was proud to have him as a member of her school.
Reportedly, the teen was also selected to present the Boy Scouts of America Report to the Nation, in Washington D.C. at the White House and President Obama. The report contained information on young boy scouts who had been outstanding in the fields of national ser-vice, conservation, healthy living and involvement within their communities and Hans-berry’s name was put forward many times by his leaders.
