The dawn of open heart surgery: an overview of the symposium that celebrated the 50th anniversary of controlled cross circulation.

At the 50th Anniversary of Open Heart Surgery symposium sponsored by the Lillehei Heart Institute of the University of Minnesota in October 2004, the following pioneers in open heart surgery development presented papers of historical interest: Drs. Peter Agre, Robert W. Anderson, William Baumgartner, Alain Carpentier, Aldo Casteneda, Randolph Chitwood, Jr.

Development of pump-oxygenator systems and the origins of open-heart surgery: a personal memoir.

Intracardiac surgery requires the use of a pump-oxygenator to maintain life while the heart is taken out of its usual circuit. Open-heart surgery became practical with the introduction of perfusion systems in the early 1950s. Many factors merged at this time to initiate the beginnings of open-heart surgery.

The evolution of the helical reservoir pump-oxygenator system at the University of Minnesota.

Open heart surgery was not possible before the early 1950s. The development of controlled cross-circulation at the University of Minnesota in 1953 was a major contributing factor toward operating safely on the interior of the heart. Cross-circulation required connecting a donor's arterial and venous blood vessels to those of a smaller recipient whose heart could then be opened for corrective surgery.

Origin of the helical reservoir bubble oxygenator heart-lung machine.

Open-heart surgery was not possible before the early 1950s. Such surgery awaited the development of cardiopulmonary bypass. The development of controlled cross-circulation at the University of Minnesota in 1953 was a major contributing factor towards operating safely on the interior of the heart.