TONY HANSBERRY
Tony D. Hansberry, II was a 9th grader at Carnell Cookman School of Medical Arts in Jacksonville, Florida when he invented a project that allows him to “reduce the time it takes to perform hysterectomies.” In his own words, Hansberry says it only took him a day or two to come up with the concept”.His ambition was to become a well respected and competent neurosurgeon.He perfected his technique by practicing on a medical dummy.
He came under the tutelage of Bruce Nappi, the director of the University of Florida’s Center for Simulation Education and Safety Research (CSESaR) in the summer of 2008. From his experience there, he developed a project that showed how to reduce surgical time for hysterectomies. It only won him second prize in his school’s science fair, but it caught the attention of University of Florida physicians who invited him to present his project.
the “Hansberry Stitch” improved how the top of the vagina (the vaginal cuff) is sutured after a hysterectomy which can reduce surgery time, pain and complications for the 600,000 women annually. In fact, his 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.