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Fred Wu, MD 🫀 吳明杰 Profile picture
@FredWuMD
Sep 3, 2018 • 8 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X
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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.
According to @UMNChildrens, Jacqueline was still alive as of 2012, 60 years after her surgery, but I haven't been able to confirm her current status. Dr. Lewis went on to correct atrial septal defects in over 50 children over the next 3 years.
Hypothermia was of limited utility since few heart defects could be repaired in the 6-minute window before hypoxic injury occurred. Leaving the OR, Dr. Lillehei was heard saying, “Boy, there’s got to be a better way to do open-heart surgery than with total body hypothermia.”
If you're interested in reading more about the early days of heart surgery, there are a couple of great options. The first is @gwaynemiller's book, King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery, published in 2000. amazon.com/King-Hearts-Ma…
Another great book is @thomasngmorris's The Matter of the Heart: A History of the Heart in Eleven Operations, published last year. amazon.com/Matter-Heart-H…
@sjauhar's book, Heart: A History, is also coming out in just a couple of weeks, and it looks great! Looking forward to reading that one! amazon.com/Heart-History-…

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More from @FredWuMD

Fred Wu, MD 🫀 吳明杰 Profile picture
Sep 12, 2018
To date, smallpox is the only major human disease that has been eradicated. September 11 happens to mark 40 years since Janet Parker became the last person ever to die from smallpox, and if you're interested, I thought I'd briefly share the story of this tragic milestone.
Smallpox is a viral infection that has been around for millennia. It was characterized by a fever followed by an eruption of skin lesions that ranged from very mild to overwhelming and lethal. Ramses V, who died in 1156 BCE, is believed to be one of the earliest known cases.
Edward Jenner, an English physician, is credited with the discovery that inoculation with cowpox can protect against the closely related but far deadlier smallpox, and for over a century, this remained the basis for vaccination against smallpox.
Read 16 tweets
Fred Wu, MD 🫀 吳明杰 Profile picture
Aug 14, 2018
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!
Read 5 tweets
Fred Wu, MD 🫀 吳明杰 Profile picture
May 24, 2018
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.
Read 18 tweets

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