Clarence walton lillehei biography of christopher
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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 christopher
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.