The mid-century revolution in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery: Part 4

The ‘big bang’ of our mid-century revolution in thoracic surgery was the emergence of a realistic cardiac surgery. Having repeatedly renounced writing another chronological history, the present chronicle is meant to be a retrospective appraisal of the pioneers and events that I actually met and witnessed. The reader can easily refer to excellent historical descriptions for detailed knowledge of particular topics. I have already recommended the excellent historical textbook of Richard Meade or my own 1990 ‘Story of Thoracic Surgery’, as well as the more recent history of Raymond Hurt. The interested scholar will find there the chronological accounts from the vascular ligature of Ambroise Pares to the research of Alexis Carrel, Rehn’s suture of a cardiac stab wound, Elliot Cuttler’s valvulotomies, or the pneumoand omentopexies of Claude Beck and Lawrence O’Shaughnessy. It all has been said over and over again. Of course there are two stories of actual interest today: the first of hypothermia and Bigelow, and the second on ‘makeshift’ myocardial revascularization by Arthur Vineberg. Consequently I might briefly recall these two Canadian pioneers.