A Parent Heart-Lung Machine: The Ultimate Gift

This is the 3rd episode in our Medical Monday mini-series for Heart Month, February 2023.
 
 What pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon seemed "too Hollywood"? Why? What is cross circulation and what was this experimental technique the predecessor of?
 
 This Medical Monday episode deals with an amazing experimental surgical technique developed by Dr. C. Walton Lillehei. Frank and Anna Jaworski talk about what they learned about this procedure in the book King of Hearts by Rhode Island writer, G. Wayne Miller.

Dr. C. Walton Lillehei used cross circulation on 45 patients in the 1950s to operate on children with congenital heart defects. These children would have died without some form of surgical intervention. Not all of his surgeries were successful using this experimental technique, but it is amazing how many of his patients did survive! This technique was used on the first successful surgery to correct ventricular septal defect, atrioventricular canal defect, and tetralogy of Fallot.

Thanks to the work done by Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, and the development of the bubble oxygenator, he has become known as The Father of Open-Heart Surgery. We hope you enjoy this special episode of Heart to Heart with Anna.
 
Other Links You May Find Interesting:

C. Walton Lillehei, the “Father of Open Heart Surgery”

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/01.CIR.100.13.1364
 
 King of Hearts (at Amazon)
 https://www.amazon.com/King-Hearts-Maverick-Pioneered-Surgery/dp/0609807242/ref=sr_1_1?crid=U6PY4HODPPWC&keywords=King+of+Hearts+g.+wayne+miller&qid=1676907151&sprefix=king+of+hearts+g.+wayne+mille%2Caps%2C130&sr=8-1

C. Walton Lillehei, PhD, MD

The Father of Open-Heart Surgery
 https://med.umn.edu/lhi/about/c-walton-lillehei