The Last Frontier: Operating on The Human Heart

Up until the 1st half of the 20th century, the prevailing wisdom was that the human heart could never be operated upon. It was accepted that the repair of defects inside the heart was impossible since the heart needed to still beat to support the circulation of the patient. In 1939, the first operation was performed on the aorta (outside the heart) and the 1st coarctation repair (congenital narrowing of the aorta) was performed in 1945. Alfred Blalock at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore performed the 1st “blue baby” operation in 1945 to bring more blood flow to the lungs in children with inadequate pulmonary (lung) blood flow. Several ingenious techniques to attempt repair inside the heart were used in the 1950s. The heart-lung machine was developed in Philadelphia and Rochester, MN, and used in 1953 for the 1st successful open-heart operations.

With improvements in surgical techniques, anesthesia, the heart-lung machine and the creation of intensive care units as well as understanding of heart disease, heart surgery is now commonplace and amazingly safe and effective. Dr. Kanter will review the development of surgery on the heart from its primitive beginnings to the mature endeavor that it is now.

Presented by: Kirk Kanter

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