Less
than 50 years ago, no one had ever opened a living heart without killing
the patient. The heart was impregnable; only dreamers believed that surgery
inside this most fundamental part of the body would ever be possible.Today, in this
country, more than 125,000 open-heart operations take place
each year. Another 600,000 life-saving coronary-bypass procedures are done.
And more than 2,000 hearts are transplanted. In short, heart surgery now
seems almost as commonplace as an appendectomy.This nine-part serial by G. Wayne Miller, which appeared in The Providence Journal from Jan. 10 through Jan. 18, 1999, is the story of that daring quest — a journey into the heart. "KING OF HEARTS", the book that evolved from the series, will be published in February 2000.
Prologue:
Code Red
Dashing Walt Lillehei favored gold jewelry,
all-night jazz clubs, and fancy cars. If any doctor could bring a Nobel
Prize to Minnesota, surely it was this young maverick.
| 1.
Rivers of Blood Maybe it was nothing, the way little Patty Anderson's blood vessels pulsated and her chest bulged. To be safe, her parents brought her to the family doctor. He detected a murmur. |
2.
Invasive Procedures Suffering from deadly cancer, Dr. Walt Lillehei has surgery. But it is a woman with heart disease that decides his life's work. She'll die -- but if Lillehei succeeds, the world will benefit. |
| 3.
Dog Lab Most pioneers of cardiac surgery believe a machine will be needed to operate inside the heart. Walt Lillehei has a dramatically simpler idea -- one everyone else believes is bizarre and dangerous. |
4.
A Human Candidate Ready to try his revolutionary new open-heart surgery on a person, Walt Lillehei selects a little boy from northern Minnesota. Gregory is adorable -- and the hole in his heart is killing him. |
| 5.
Zero Time Walt Lillehei's first open-heart patient goes into surgery. The boy's father will be put to sleep, too -- his body serving as his son's life-support system while Lillehei attempts what no one has ever done. |
6.
The King of Hearts After losing his first open-heart patient, Walt Lillehei decides to try again on two more young children. Losing them, too, could end Lillehei's pioneering work -- and set the entire field back years. |
| 7.
Saved by bubbles No one thought the shy young doctor who showed up at Lillehei's laboratory one day would ever amount to much. But his idea will break open the field of open-heart surgery. |
8.
Unexpected Outcomes Open-heart surgery has arrived -- but accidental injury during operations is killing many patients. With the help of a TV repairman, Walt Lillehei sets out to solve this latest problem. |
| 9.
Bread upon the Waters Known now as the Father of Open Heart Surgery, Walt Lillehei should be enjoying accolades. Instead, he is in court, fighting for survival against a government that seems bent on destroying him. |
10.
Epilogue Walt's own health was not what it had been. Still, on his 80th birthday, what was Walt if not a survivor. In his keynote speech, former Vice President Walter Mondale thanked Lillehei for the "millions of lives" he saved. |
The
final chapter
The man whom many consider to be the Father of Open Heart Surgery, for many months in failling health, succumbs to pneumonia with his family gathered at his side.
The man whom many consider to be the Father of Open Heart Surgery, for many months in failling health, succumbs to pneumonia with his family gathered at his side.
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