Dr. C. Walton Lillehei (October 23, 1918–July 5, 1999) is known as the "Father of Open-Heart Surgery." Jump to: navigation, search October 23 is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 69 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search July 5 is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 179 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1999(MCMXCIX) is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

Lillehei was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He earned five degrees at the University of Minnesota, including his B.S. (with distinction) in 1939, his M.D. (Alpha Omega Alpha) in 1942, his M.S. in physiology in 1951, and his Ph.D. in surgery in 1951. Jump to: navigation, search Downtown Minneapolis as viewed from the Stone Arch Bridge Motto: En Avant (French: forward) Nickname: City of Lakes location in Hennepin County, Minnesota Founded Incorporated 1850s 1867  County Hennepin County Mayor R.T. Rybak (DFL) Area  - Total  - Water 142. ... Jump to: navigation, search University of Minnesota, Twin Cities This article is about the oldest and largest campus of the University of Minnesota. ... A Bachelor of Science (B.S., B.Sc. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Medicinæ Doctor or Doctor of Medicine (M.D. or D.M.) is a doctorate level degree held by medical doctors. ... Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the year. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate course of one or two years in duration. ... Physiology (in Greek physis = nature and logos = word) is the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of living organisms. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. ... A typical modern surgery operation For other meanings of the word, see Surgery (disambiguation) Surgery (from the Greek cheirourgia - lit. ...

A Department of Surgery professor at the University of Minnesota from 1951 to 1967, Lillehei participated in the world's first successful open-heart operation, performed at the University of Minnesota on September 2, 1952. That historic operation, using hypothermia, was led by his longtime friend and colleague, Dr. F. John Lewis. Jump to: navigation, search 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1952 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Hypothermia is a medical condition in which the victims core body temperature has dropped to significantly below normal and normal metabolism begins to be impaired. ...

Hypothermia, however, was not suited for most birth defects within the heart. Lillehei went on to head the team that performed, on March 26, 1954, the world's first open-heart operation using cross-circulation. In that historic operation at the University of Minnesota, 13-month-old Gregory Glidden underwent successful repair of a large ventricular defect; his father was temporarily hooked up to take over the pumping and oxygenating functions of his son's heart. Sadly, the child died 11 days later of pneumonia, even though his heart defect had been successfully closed. However, Lillehei and his team used cross-circulation for more than 40 open-heart operations in the next year, including the world's first surgical repairs of the atrioventricular canal and tetralogy of Fallot. A congenital disorder is a medical condition or defect that is present at or before birth (for example, congenital heart disease). ... Jump to: navigation, search March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the heart, a ventricle is a chamber which collects blood from an atrium (another heart chamber) and pumps it out of the heart. ... Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs. ... In medicine, the tetralogy of Fallot (described by Etienne Fallot, 1850 - 1911, Marseille) is a significant and complex congenital heart defect, involving four different heart malformations: A ventricular septal defect (VSD), a hole between the two bottom chambers (ventricles) of the heart. ...

In 1958, Lillehei was responsible for the world's first use of a small, portable, battery-powered pacemaker, invented at his behest by Earl Bakken (a University of Minnesota employee who later founded Medtronic). Lillehei also developed and implanted the world's first prosthetic heart valves: the Lillehei-Nakib toroidal disc (1966), the Lillehei-Kaster pivoting disc (1967), and the Kalke-Lillehei rigid bileaflet prosthesis (1968). Jump to: navigation, search 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The term pacemaker has multiple meanings: In sports, a pacemaker or pacer is a competitor who enters an athletics race with little or no intention of winning, but purely to set a fast pace for other competitors to follow. ... A United States soldier demonstrates Foosball with two prosthetic limbs In medicine, a prosthesis is an artificial extension that replaces a missing part of the body. ... In anatomy, the heart valves are valves in the heart that prevent blood from flowing the wrong way. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

A dedicated educator, Lillehei trained more than 150 cardiac surgeons from 40 nations, including Dr. Christiaan Barnard (a fellow University of Minnesota Ph.D. recipient in the 1950s who went on to perform the world's first heart transplant in South Africa). In 1967, he was appointed Lewis Atterbury Stimson professor and chairman of the surgery department at Cornell Medical Center, New York. He returned to St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1975, where he became the director of medical affairs at St. Jude Medical, Inc. He was also named a clinical professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota. State capitol building in Saint Paul Saint Paul is the capital and second-largest city of the state of Minnesota in the United States of America. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

Lillehei's countless honors include the Bronze Star for World War II service in Italy, the 1955 Lasker Award, induction in 1993 into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame, and the 1996 Harvey Prize in Science and Technology. In 1966-67, he served as president of the American College of Cardiology. He was nominated for the Noble prize in medicine. The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration and is the fourth highest award for bravery, heroism or meritorious service. ... Jump to: navigation, search World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that... The Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards have been awarded annually since 1946 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Categories: Organization stubs | Medical associations ...

References

• Mary Knatterud, Research Associate & Assistant Professor, Dept. of Surgery University of Minnesota Medical School