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It's open heart surgery's 66th birthday! On September 2, 1952, Dr. F. John Lewis at @UMNChildrens closed an atrial septal defect in 5yo Jacqueline Johnson using only total-body hypothermia, allowing him to halt her circulation for 5-1/2 minutes as he performed the operation. #CHD 
Using cooling blankets, Jacqueline was cooled to 28°C before her chest was opened, her systemic veins and pulmonary artery were clamped, and her right atrium opened. In the photo Lewis appears at the near side of the table. Standing on a stool behind him is Dr. Walt Lillehei.
After quickly closing the hole and checking his work, Lewis closed up the heart and unclamped the vessels. Jacqueline's body was rewarmed in a watering trough ordered from a Sears catalog. She made a successful recovery and was discharged after 11 days. Lewis had made history.
Anyone remember the young man pictured here with Princess Di? On Aug 13, 1985, at 3 years old, Jamie Gavin of Dublin made headlines internationally as the youngest person at the time to undergo heart-lung transplant. The surgery was performed by Sir Magdi Yacoub. #CHD #DonateLife
Jamie was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (#HLHS). Surgical options then were few. Bill Norwood had only just published his initial series on HLHS palliation; most centers remained wary. In 1984, another baby with HLHS, Baby Fae, received a baboon heart transplant.
Just 5 months before Jamie's operation, Yacoub's team had performed a heart-lung transplant on 5yo Brooke Matthews of Australia, who was at the time the youngest heart-lung recipient. Her story generated drama when her father held up a hamburger stand to help pay for her surgery!
Dr. Helen Taussig, considered to be the founder of pediatric cardiology and best known for her role in developing the Blalock-Taussig shunt operation for "blue babies," was born 120 years ago today. Happy birthday, Dr. Taussig! #CHD
As several others have pointed out, Dr. Taussig persisted in the face of great adversity—no small part of which was due to her gender at a time when medicine was dominated by men—to become one of the most influential physicians of our time. A few highlights...
Harvard Medical School missed a few opportunities to claim what is now known as the Blalock-Taussig shunt. When she initially expressed interest in a medical career, Harvard allowed Dr. Taussig to sit in on some courses but would not issue a woman any credit toward a degree.
