title: Pioneering contributions of Alexander A. Vishnevsky and his team to cardiac surgery.
abstract: In the dawn of cardiac surgery in the 1940s to 1950s, Alexander A. Vishnevsky assembled together a fine team of surgeons and conducted intense surgical research that resulted in clinical application of modified Blalock-Taussig shunt, cavo-pulmonary shunt, and paved the way to clinical orthotopic heart and lung transplantation and coronary bypass surgery in Russia. The team of surgeons lead by Vishnevsky also performed the world's first cavo-pulmonary shunts and experimental orthotopic heart and lung transplantation. Herein, we describe the pioneering contributions of Vishnevsky and his team to cardiac surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Vladimir V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Alexi-Meskishvili
authors.forename: Igor E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Konstantinov
mesh_terms: D000047:Academies and Institutes; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000266:history* / Q000379:methods; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D013903:Thoracic Surgery / Q000266:history