Heimlich Maneuver Inventor Uses It for First Time

The 96-year-old surgeon credited with developing his namesake Heimlich maneuver recently used the technique for the first time himself to save a woman at his senior living center, reports AP. Dr. Henry Heimlich tells the Cincinnati Enquirer that while he had demonstrated the well-known maneuver many times through the years, he had never used it on a person in an actual emergency.

That changed when an 87-year-old woman began choking on a piece of hamburger at the Deupree House in Cincinnati. As it turns out, the retired chest surgeon happened to be in the room—and he knew just what to do. “When I used it, and she recovered quickly, it made me appreciate how wonderful it has been to be able to save all those lives," he tells the Enquirer. (More Heimlich maneuver stories.)