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F. John Lewis

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F. John Lewis
Born
Floyd John Lewis

1916
Died1993
NationalityAmerican
Known forOpen heart surgery
Medical career
InstitutionsUniversity of Minnesota

Floyd John Lewis (1916–1993) was an American surgeon who performed the first successful open heart operation, closing an atrial septal defect in a 5-year-old girl, on 2 September 1952.[1] For the next 3 years, Lewis and colleagues operated on 60 patients with atrial septal defects using hypothermia and inflow occlusion.[2] He was best friends with C. Walton Lillehei and they worked together at the University of Minnesota.[3]

In 1956, Lewis moved on from Minnesota to Northwestern University where he became the first full-time member of the faculty of surgery. At Northwestern, F. John continued investigating the use of hypothermia in the operating room. Lewis later trained Thomas Starzl, who was completing a fellowship in cardiovascular surgery at Northwestern, and helped him to win a Markle Scholarship.[4]

After being passed up for the Chair of Surgery position, Lewis departed for Santa Barbara in 1976 where he engaged in new careers: writing, hiking and mountain-climbing essays, and publishing a pamphlet entitled Bicycling Santa Barbara. He died on 20 September 1993 in Santa Barbara of sepsis.[5]

References

  1. ^ Fedak, PW (1998). "Open hearts. The origins of direct-vision intracardiac surgery". Texas Heart Institute Journal. 25 (2): 100–111. PMC 325520. PMID 9654653.
  2. ^ Moller, JH; Shumway SJ; Gott VL (September 2009). "The first open-heart repairs using extracorporeal circulation by cross-circulation: a 53-year follow-up". Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 88 (3): 1044–6. doi:10.1016/j.athoracsur.2009.05.077. PMID 19699962.
  3. ^ Gott, VL (June 2005). "Lillehei, Lewis, and Wangensteen: the right mix for giant achievements in cardiac surgery". Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 79 (6): S2210-3. doi:10.1016/j.athoracsur.2005.02.078. PMID 15919253.
  4. ^ Shumway, NE (September 1999). "C. Walton and F. John". Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 68 (3 Suppl): S34-6. doi:10.1016/s0003-4975(99)00814-0. PMID 10505989.(subscription required)
  5. ^ Shumway, NE (January 1996). "F. John Lewis, MD: 1916-1993". Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 61 (1): 250–1. doi:10.1016/0003-4975(95)00768-7. PMID 8561575.