C. Walton Lillehei | |
|---|---|
| Born | Clarence Walton Lillehei (1918-10-23)October 23, 1918 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | July 5, 1999(1999-07-05) (aged 80) |
| Education | University of Minnesota |
| Known for | Pioneering open heart surgery. |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Surgeon |
| Institutions | University of Minnesota |
| Sub-specialties | Cardiothoracic surgery |
| Research | Open-heart surgery |
| Awards | Harvey Prize in Science and Technology Gairdner Foundation International Award(1963) Lasker Award for Advances in Cardiac Surgery(1955) |
Clarence Walton Lillehei (October 23, 1918 – July 5, 1999), was an American surgeon who pioneeredopen-heart surgery, as well as numerous techniques, equipment and prostheses forcardiothoracic surgery.[1]
Clarence (often called "Walt") Lillehei was born inMinneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Clarence Ingvald Lillehei (1892-1973) and Elizabeth Lillian (Walton) Lillehei (1891-1973). He attendedWest High School in Minneapolis in 1935.[2] He attended the University of Minnesota at the age of 17. He earned four degrees at theUniversity of Minnesota: aB.S. (with distinction) in 1939, anM.D. (Alpha Omega Alpha) in 1942, aM.S. inphysiology in 1951, and aPh.D. insurgery in 1951.[3][4]
In 1944,Alfred Blalock atJohns Hopkins Hospital began successfully performing surgery on the great vessels around the heart to relieve the symptoms oftetralogy of Fallot, demonstrating that heart surgery could be possible. Lillehei participated in the first successful surgical repair of the heart on 2 September 1952. That historic operation, usinghypothermia, was led by his longtime friend and colleague,F. John Lewis. Lillehei was a professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota from 1951 to 1967.[5]
Hypothermia gave only a relatively brief time, up to 10 minutes, during which surgery could be performed and was therefore not suited for complexcongenital defects within the heart. To resolve this problem, Lillehei performed operations usingcross-circulation, in which a donor was hooked up nearby to take up the pumping and oxygenation functions of the patient who was being operated on. Using this technique, Lillehei led the team that performed successful repair of a ventricular septal defect on March 26, 1954. Although the repair was successful, the patient, 13-month-old Gregory Glidden, died 11 days later of suspectedpneumonia. Lillehei and his team continued to usecross-circulation for a total of 44 open-heart operations in the following year, of which 32 patients survived. These operations included the first repairs of theatrioventricular canal and tetralogy of Fallot.[6]
Lillehei cooperated with ProfessorMoshe Gueron and Professor Morris J. Levy, who were both considered among "The Cardiology Founders of Israel" by doing the first cardiac puncturecatheterization, which was used on 80 patients in 1964.[7]
In 1958, Lillehei was responsible for the world's first use of a small, external, portable, battery-poweredpacemaker. It was invented at his behest byEarl Bakken, whose then-small company,Medtronic, designed and repaired electronics for the University of Minnesota hospital. After the introduction of the first widely used prosthetic heart valves by Albert Starr in 1961, Lillehei also developed and implanted several innovative designs: the Lillehei-Nakib toroidal disc (1966), the Lillehei-Kaster pivoting disc (1967), and the Kalke-Lillehei rigid bileaflet prosthesis (1968).[8]
As a dedicated educator, Lillehei trained more than 150 cardiac surgeons from 40 nations, includingNorman Shumway andChristiaan Barnard, who formed half of the quartet which pioneeredheart transplantation (the others beingRichard Lower andAdrian Kantrowitz).[9] In 1967, he was appointedLewis Atterbury Stimson professor and chairman of the surgery department atCornell Medical Center, New York. He returned toSt. Paul, Minnesota, in 1975, where he became the director of medical affairs atSt. Jude Medical. He was also named a clinical professor in the Department of Surgery at theUniversity of Minnesota.[10]
Lillehei's honors include theBronze Star forWorld War II service inItaly, the 1955Lasker Award, theOrder of Health Merit Jose Fernandez Madrid by the government ofColombia in 1959, the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement in 1968,[11] induction in 1993 into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame, and the 1996Harvey Prize in Science and Technology. In 1966-67, he served as president of theAmerican College of Cardiology.[12]
In 1946, Lillehei was married to Katherine Ruth (Lindberg) Lillehei (1921-2012) with whom he had four children. He died in 1999 and was buried atFort Snelling National Cemetery.[13]
His youngest brother,Richard C. Lillehei, was a notable transplant surgeon in his own right, having participated in the world's first successful transplant of a pancreas in 1966[14] and the first known human transplant of the small and large intestines.[15]
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