Dr. Boris Efros Memorial Memorial Plaque

A memorial plaque, dedicated to Dr. Boris Efros, was placed and unveiled in the place of his home in 2009. Artist K. Šiaulytis is the author of the plaque. It was sponsored by the Jakovas Bunka Charity and Sponsorship Fund.

Dr. Efros was born in Plungė to a Jewish family, in the house that stood in this location. In 1939, having graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Vytautas Magnus University, he started work as a surgeon in the Kaunas Jewish Hospital. Afterwards, he worked in Marijampolė for a short time.

Efros moved to Kazakhstan during World War II. There he worked as the Chief of the Surgical Department in the Balkhash Hospital. In 1945, he returned to Lithuania, where he worked as the Chief of the Surgical Department in the Vilnius Railwayman Hospital.

In 1958, he became the first in Lithuania to perform elective heart surgery, specifically a mitral commissurotomy. The first heart surgeries, performed by Dr. B. Efros, were the primary stimulus for the development of cardiovascular surgery in Lithuania. Dr. Efros was also the pioneer in oesophagus and lung surgery in Lithuania.

He was a very innovative surgeon, having implemented the most advanced treatment methods of the time. During his life, Efros has performed more than 12 000 surgeries of various nature. Moreover, he taught a few dozen young surgeons and was an active participant in the activities of the Association of Lithuanian Surgeons.

The archives of Dr. Boris Efros are being kept in the public library of the Plungė district municipality.