Mark M. Ravitch

Mark Mitchell Ravitch (September 12, 1910 – March 1, 1989) was an American surgeon. He pioneered the use of surgical staples, the treatment of chest wall deformities, and non-operative management of intussusception.

Early life and education Ravitch was born in 1910 in New York City. He attended the University of Oklahoma, where he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and graduated with a degree in zoology in 1930. He received his M.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1934 and remained at Johns Hopkins to complete his surgical training, which he finished in 1943 under the mentorship of Alfred Blalock. He also pioneered a new surgical procedure for correction of the chest wall deformities pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum, which became known as the Ravitch procedure. He is regarded as one of the founders of the subspecialty of pediatric surgery, and he and Félicien Steichen are credited with introducing surgical staples to the United States. He was regarded as an authority on the treatment of various deformities of the chest wall. In 1985, Johns Hopkins University established the Mark M. Ravitch, M.D. Endowed Professorship in Surgery.