Clarence walton lillehei biography of abraham
C. Walton Lillehei, the “Father of Open Heart Surgery”!
How has he transformed the scene?
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1918, Dr. C. Walton Lillehei was truly a “surgical giant” of the 20th century, and a renowned innovator in the field of open-heart surgery.
Clarence walton lillehei biography of abraham
In 1954, Lillehei and his associates rocked the international medical community by successfully using cross-circulation in surgery at the University of Minnesota Hospital: linking the circulatory system of a healthy individual to that of a patient whose heart is stopped to allow surgical repair.
The first patient in whom the procedure was used survived for 18 days; the next two made excellent recoveries, and Lillehei’s team proceeded to conduct a total of 45 cardiac surgeries using the procedure in the following year. Although there were notable losses, their successes nevertheless revived hope in the potential of open-heart surgery and brought a tidal wave of advancements in treatment of cardio-thoracic defects.