"A thrill of extreme magnety": Robert E. Gross and the beginnings of cardiac surgery.
Seventy-five years ago, a 7-year-old girl underwent the first successful ligation of a patent ductus arteriosus. This procedure transformed her health and was a milestone in the development of cardiac surgery. The operation was performed by Dr. Robert E. Gross, then the surgical chief resident at Boston Children's Hospital, who went on to have a distinguished career in pediatric surgery. The patient is now a great-grandmother and the oldest known survivor of cardiac surgery.
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Lindsay
L
Murray
W Hardy
WH
Hendren
John E
JE
Mayer
Mark A
MA
Rockoff
D000769:Anesthesia, Inhalation / Q000266:history; D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation; D003521:Cyclopropanes; D004374:Ductus Arteriosus, Patent / Q000266:history* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D013903:Thoracic Surgery / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States
D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation; D003521:Cyclopropanes; C030797:cyclopropane
Cardiac surgery; Congenital heart disease; PDA; Patent ductus arteriosus; Robert E. Gross MD