Pioneers of Cardiac Surgery - by William S Stoney (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Heart operations today are quite common and relatively low-risk, but in the beginning it was just the opposite. Cardiac operations were reserved for desperately ill patients. The author documents this dramatic transition with profiles of 38 surgeons who were active between 1940 and 1985.

The profiles are edited transcripts of interviews videotaped between 1996 and 2004. They tell of the development of new techniques such as the "blue baby operation," the first heart-lung machine, the first artificial heart valve, and the first coronary bypass operation. They also tell the unusual life stories of the surgeons and allude to professional and institutional rivalries. A particularly valuable part of the book is the author's brief history of cardiac surgery, designed to orient the reader for reading the profiles that follow.

Review Quotes

Pioneers of Cardiac Surgery is a remarkable and unique account of the history of cardiovascular surgery. . . . Much of the information helps to clarify which contributor deserves a so-called 'first' in the field. I found the book fascinating and absorbing, and have spent enjoyable hours in reading how those pioneers overcame obstacles social, ethical, and forbidding which threatened their personal reputations. Many were objects of criticism by skeptics who mostly stood on the sidelines while exciting new developments appeared. The book should serve as a reference for any surgeon or physician interested in an authentic account of the history of the remarkable achievements of the era.
--Denton A. Cooley, MD

From its beginnings in Baltimore, and two institutions in Northern Minnesota, this exciting story is recreated in the words of the men who were responsible for its rapid development. The interviews are 'up close and personal' and include information about upbringing, education, mentoring, family life, and the circumstances of their contributions.
--John L. Cameron, MD, Alfred Blalock Distinguished Service Professor, the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

Surgical history is only rarely autobiographical, but not because surgeons are shy or lack self-esteem. This collection is a window into the evolution of cardiac surgery, surgical careers, and the bumps along the way.
--Sara Shumway, MD, Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, University of Minnesota

This volume's appeal is unique, in that it consists of material derived from personal interviews with the giants of the specialty and filtered through the discerning eye of an active participant and a giant of the specialty himself. The end result serves to humanize these individuals . . . . I recommend this volume to cardiothoracic surgeons of all ages. The older among us will revel, as I did, in the recalled memories of earlier times, and the younger surgeons will take inspiration from the similarities in the lives of these pioneers and their own lives.
--Thomas B. Ferguson, MD, Emeritus Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine