János Balassa (1815–1868) was a surgeon, university professor, and one of the leading personalities of the Hungarian medical society at the time. He was also an internationally recognized authority within the field of plastic surgery.[1] Professor of Surgery (1843-) at the University of Pest (Hungary).[2]
János Balassa was a pioneer of cardiac resuscitation (CPR) and carried out the first reported case of external heart massage.[3]
In the aftermath of the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1848 where Hungary sought independence from the Austrian Empire, he was temporarily removed from his professorship and imprisoned by the Habsburg authorities.[4]
Balassa was Ignaz Semmelweis's colleague and house doctor.[1] He was in the medical commission[5] that referred Semmelweis to a mental institution, other members were János Bókai and Wagner.[6]