HISTORY AND SURVEY OF THE CARDIO-VASCULAR SURGERY

Abstract

Surgeons are expected to be always creative for surgical operations. This requires deep thoughts and keen idea which are to be proved, evaluated, and improved for a future. In these progressive process, we must possess "surgeon's dream". A history of cardio-vascular surgery lies in this stream. A shunt operation for the Fallot's tetralogy was Taussig's idea (1945) which was later proved by Blalock. From Bailey's mitral commissurotomy (1948) and a successful open-heat surgery using pump-oxigenator by Gibbon (1954), to a valve replacement with Starr's prosthetic valve (1960), a coronary artery bypass by Favaloro (1969), and more recently, a heart transplantation bridged by an artificial heart; the progress is in the main stream of the phylosophy. While in our country, there are several innovative operations developed by Japanese surgeons such as Drs. Arai, Kawashima, Saji, Konno, Sohma, Takeuchi, and Muraoka, to whom I send my sincere respects. I also wish that these are followed by a further creative development; A surgeon must pursue his endless dreams.