Dr. Kermit Edward Krantz, M.D., Litt.D., FACOG was a surgeon, inventor and faculty at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He is most known as the co-developer of the Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz (MMK), a medical procedure for urinary stress incontinence for which he performed over 5000. He was a highly regarded academic serving as Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Kansas.

Many (regionally) recognized him as pioneer of equality and is largely credited with desegregating labor and delivery and the nursery in the KU hospital in the early 1960s and championing women’s rights.

Personal

Dr. Krantz, an identical twin and the youngest of 8 children was born June 4, 1923, in Oak Park, Illinois. Kermit worked his way though school college and medical school performing research, curating a museum (for Northwestern Antomy Professor Leslie Arey) and selling newspapers as he lost both of his parents by the age of 13.

Dr. Krantz died July 30, 2007 in Kansas City, KS from complications of a stroke.

Academics and Work history

• Dr. Krantz graduated from Northwestern University
  Northwestern University
  Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
  
   with a Bachelor of Science (1945), a Master of Science in Anatomy (1947), and a Medical Doctorate (1948.)
• He served his residency at both the Cornell Medical College (NYC) at New York Lying-In Hospital (now New York-Presbyterian Hospital) and at the University of Vermont
  University of Vermont
  The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
  
  
• Held the position of Assistant Professor at the University of Vermont
• Held the position of Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas
  University of Arkansas
  The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
  
  
• Held the position of (Full) Professor of Anatomy and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
• He served as Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Kansas for 31 years.
• 1990 he was honored as the first University Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine.
• Associate to the Executive Vice-Chancellor for Facilities Development.
• Dean for Clinical Affairs (Chief of Staff) at KUMC (1972-1974.)
• Over 75 books, journals or book contributions were credited to Dr. Krantz, along with nine medical educational/instructional movies

Awards, Honors, Service

• Endowed Chair at the University of Kansas; Kermit E. Krantz Professor and Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Markel Scholar in Medical Science (1957)
• Bowens-Brooks Fellow - New York Academy of Medicine
• Literary (honorary) Doctorate from William Woods University
  William Woods University
  William Woods University is a coeducational, independent, private university of 3,800 students, representing most states and approximately 20 foreign countries. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in a variety of disciplines in both campus and outreach settings. WWU is situated...
  
  
• Foundation Prize, 1950, American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society
• Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists.
• Won the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' "Robert A. Ross Award" 12 times (from 1972-1983, more than any other) for his work with the Navy
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists award the "Kermit E Krantz Award" for service in the Armed Forces' Air Force Section, in honor of Dr. Krantz since 1983.
• In 1985, he received the Department of the Army Outstanding Civilian Service Award. (One of the highest civilian awards the US Army/Pentagon can bestow.)
• Won the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' "Col. Edward Zimmermann Award" in 1981 for his work with the Army.
• University of Kansas Honorary Medical Alumnus Award, 1994
• Listed on the Hall of Fame at Oak Park and River Forest High School
  Oak Park and River Forest High School
  Oak Park and River Forest High School, or OPRF, is a public four-year high school located in Oak Park, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is the only school of Oak Park and River Forest District 200....
  
  
• Executive Committee of the National Association of Planned Parenthood Physicians
• President of the Society of Medical Consultants of the Armed Forces.
• Chief civilian consultant to the Surgeon General
• Chairman for the Committee on Gynecological Practice/American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists
• Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics/Wyeth Career Achievement Award (1988)
• Examiner for the American Board of Gynecologists.
• Scientific Advisory Board for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (1984 through 1992)
• In 2004, Northwestern University honored Dr. Krantz by dedicating the Arey/Krantz Museum of Anatomy at the Feinberg School of Medicine
  Feinberg School of Medicine
  Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois and situated near Lake Michigan and the Magnificent Mile, is one of Northwestern University's 11 schools and colleges...
  
  
• 32nd Degree Mason
• President of the International Family Planning Research Associates

Innovation

Beyond the groundbreaking incontinence procedure (MMK), Dr. Krantz holds 4 patents including:

• Expansible Tampon
  Tampon
  A tampon is a mass of cotton or rayon or a mixture of the two inserted into a body cavity or wound to absorb bodilyfluid. The most common type in daily use is designed to be inserted into the vagina during menstruation to absorb the flow of menstrual fluid...
  
  
• Surgical closure device and Method
• Surgical Stent