title: Surgical treatment of patent ductus arteriosus: a new historical perspective.
abstract: The conventional surgical history of ligation of a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) dates from August 26, 1938, when Robert E. Gross of Boston, Massachusetts, successfully ligated a PDA. It is largely unknown that in the same year and before Gross, Emil Karl Frey, a Surgeon at the Medizinische Akademie in Dusseldorf, Germany, already ligated a PDA successfully. Assuming that he would soon perform more ligations, Frey did not publish his findings, and this historic ductal operation escaped attention.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Kinderkardiologie und angeborene Herzfehler, Deutsches Herzzentrum München, Germany. kaemmerer@dhm.mhn.de
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaemmerer
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Meisner
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hess
authors.forename: Joseph K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Perloff
mesh_terms: D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000639:trends; D004374:Ductus Arteriosus, Patent / Q000266:history / Q000601:surgery*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D016896:Treatment Outcome