A history of innovation: cardiac surgery in Minnesota.

For centuries, the heart was believed to be an inoperable organ. Through the development of new technologies and techniques, the initial difficulties inherent with operating on a moving organ began to fade. But as surgeons in the last century pushed the boundaries of cardiac repair, new problems arose. To solve them, they enlisted the help of physiologists, residents and engineers. By taking a multidisciplinary approach, sharing information and ideas, and working collaboratively, University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic investigators found themselves at the forefront of cardiac surgery. This article reviews Minnesota's contributions to the field.

[1]  R. M. Nelson,et al.  Development of a pump-oxygenator to replace the heart and lungs; an apparatus applicable to human patients, and application to one case. , 1951, Annals of surgery.

[2]  J. Moller,et al.  The first open-heart repairs of ventricular septal defect, atrioventricular communis, and tetralogy of Fallot using extracorporeal circulation by cross-circulation: a 30-year follow-up. , 1986, The Annals of thoracic surgery.

[3]  R. Dewall.  Cardiovascular inventiveness within the University of Minnesota Department of Surgery. , 2005, The Annals of thoracic surgery.

[4]  V. Alexi-Meskishvili,et al.  Suturing of penetrating wounds to the heart in the nineteenth century: the beginnings of heart surgery. , 2011, The Annals of thoracic surgery.

[5]  R. Dewall.  The evolution of the helical reservoir pump-oxygenator system at the University of Minnesota. , 2003, The Annals of thoracic surgery.

[6]  J. Kirklin,et al.  Open intracardiac operations: use of circulatory arrest during hypothermia induced by blood cooling. , 1961, Annals of surgery.

[7]  D. Cooley.  A tribute to C. Walton Lillehei, the "Father of open heart surgery". , 1999, Texas Heart Institute journal.

[8]  C. Lillehei.  Controlled cross circulation for direct-vision intracardiac surgery; correction of ventricular septal defects, atrioventricularis communis, and tetralogy of Fallot. , 1955, Postgraduate medicine.

[9]  G. Benzing.  The Tetralogy of Fallot, From a Surgical Viewpoint. , 1970 .

[10]  H. Taussig,et al.  Landmark article May 19, 1945: The surgical treatment of malformations of the heart in which there is pulmonary stenosis or pulmonary atresia. By Alfred Blalock and Helen B. Taussig. , 1984, JAMA.

[11]  H. Gray,et al.  REMOVAL OF A BULLET FROM THE RIGHT VENTRICLE OF THE HEART UNDER LOCAL ANAESTHESIA , 1915, British medical journal.

[12]  W. Alford.  King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery , 2000 .

[13]  N. Kouchoukos,et al.  Surgical treatment of congenital pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect. , 1971, The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery.

[14]  T. Sundt,et al.  Fifty years of open heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic. , 2005, Mayo Clinic proceedings.

[15]  V. Gott.  Critical role of physiologist John A. Johnson in the origins of Minnesota's billion dollar pacemaker industry. , 2007, The Annals of thoracic surgery.