Cushing, Cutler and the mitral valve.
Because of the over-all excellent results in the correction of many cardiac disorders which have accrued during the past several years, it is easy to take for granted the long and often painful evolution of surgery of the heart. Experimental work on the creation of valvular lesions and attempts at their repair stem back for a century, although it took until the 1920's before a few intrepid surgeons considered such procedures for clinical use. It is of interest that early attempts on repair of mitral stenosis, both in laboratory animals and in patients, were undertaken by Cushing and Cutler, two surgical innovators who succeeded each other as Moseley Professors of Surgery at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. Such early efforts in surgical manipulation of the heart opened the way for the refinements of modern cardiac surgery that have become routine.
D000818:Animals; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000266:history*; D002648:Child; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000601:surgery; D008946:Mitral Valve Stenosis / Q000266:history / Q000601:surgery; D014481:United States