Dr. Henry Heimlich, the 96-year-old retired surgeon credited with developing the Heimlich maneuver, has used the famous technique to save a life for the second time since he came up with it.
While speaking with The Cincinnati Enquirer, Dr. Heimlich explained that he used the maneuver to dislodge a piece of hamburger from an 87-year-old woman’s airways.
According to NBC New York, the retired surgeon was in the room with the woman at the Deupree House in Cincinnati, where he lives, when he suddenly noticed that she was choking.
Witnesses say Dr. Heimlich then used his very own technique—which requires the rescuer to dislodge a blockage through abdominal thrusts—to save the woman.
As the BBC reports, this is believed to be only the second time Dr. Heimlich has ever used the maneuver in an emergency situation.
"Just the fact that a 96-year-old man could perform that, is impressive," his son Phil told the Cincinnati Enquirer.
In 2003, Dr. Heimlich shocked the world when he confessed to the BBC that he hadn’t actually used the technique in a real-life emergency situation until he was at least 80.
After helping the woman at his retirement home, Dr. Heimlich reportedly said he now appreciates how the maneuver he developed has been "able to save all those lives."
According to the BBC, since the Heimlich maneuver was introduced in 1974, it has saved around 100,000 people in the U.S. alone.
