Cincinnati: The namesake Heimlich maneuver developed by the 96-year-old retired chest surgeon has used to save a woman choking on food at his senior living center.

Dr. Henry Heimlich lives at the Deupree House in Cincinnati, he was in dinning room when an 87-year-old woman sitting next to him began choking Monday night. T

he dining room maitre d', Perry Gaines, said that "Heimlich dislodged a piece of hamburger from the woman's airway and she quickly recovered".

Heimlich said, "he was having dinner when he looked over at the woman sitting next to him and could see that her face was growing pink and she was obviously choking. He said he got up behind her and began the technique".

He further added, "As soon as I did the Heimlich maneuver, a piece of meat with a bone in it immediately popped out,".

Heimlich said in interviews Friday that it was the first time he'd used his maneuver, and his son Phil Heimlich said he believed that was accurate.

The Heimlich maneuver involves abdominal thrusts applied to a choking person in an effort to lift the diaphragm and force air from the lungs to dislodge any object.

Heimlich said, "I developed the maneuver after reading accounts of people choking in restaurants, with many of them dying".

Through the years, he appeared on radio and television shows including "Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" to discuss and demonstrate the technique.