William Thorton Mustard (August 8, 1914–December 11, 1987) was a Canadian physician and cardiac surgeon. In 1949, he was one of the first to perform open-heart surgery using a mechanical heart pump and biological lung on a dog at the Banting Institute. He developed two operations named for him: the Mustard operation in orthopedics used to help hip use in people with polio and the Mustard cardiovascular procedure used to help correct heart problems in "blue babies," which has saved thousands of children worldwide.

Born in Clinton, Ontario, the son of Thornton and Pearl (Macdonald) Mustard, he graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto in 1937. During World War II he was in the Canadian Army Medical Corps and was awarded the Member of the British Empire. After the war, in 1947, he joined the staff of the Hospital for Sick Children. In 1956, he was appointed chief surgeon and retired in 1976.

In 1976, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1995, he was inducted in the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. In 1941, he married Elise Howe. They had seven children.

References

• "William Mustard." The Banting Research Foundation. Accessed on March 24, 2005.