History of Cardiac Surgery

Cardiac surgery began in 1896 with successful repair of a stab wound to the right ventricle, defying the previously held belief that operations on the heart were not possible. Early achievements in congenital cardiac surgery during the 1940s encouraged the development of a heart-lung machine to enable open-heart surgery. By the 1960s, widespread implementation of cardiopulmonary bypass led to rapid progress in the field, with technological advances including improved myocardial protection, prosthetic valves, and circulatory support devices such as the artificial heart and left ventricular assist devices. The culmination of accomplishments in the laboratory and clinical realm occurred in 1967 with the first successful human-to-human heart transplant. More recent innovations such as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and robotic heart surgery continue to transform and revolutionize the field of cardiac surgery.