One day in 1893, a Chicago man named James Cornish was stabbed in the chest and rushed to Provident Hospital, bleeding to death.
Despite the medical profession’s lack of success in fixing damaged hearts, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams rushed Cornish into the operating room and called in a team of surgeons.
At the time, attempts at heart surgery invariably ended with the death of the patient for a variety of reasons.
Injuries to the heart are mortally serious and don’t allow the surgeon much time to work; even without time pressure, doing precision cutting and stitching on a still-beating heart is a near impossibility.
Still, Williams began the painstaking task of entering Cornish’s chest and repairing the knife damage to the right ventricle. Somehow the team managed to successfully suture the rip and close Cornish’s chest without him dying from either the injury or the surgery.
Miraculously, despite the unavailability of antibiotics at the time, Cornish lived and left the hospital a month later, making Dr. Williams the first person to successfully perform an open-heart surgery.
President Grover Cleveland heard about the incident and appointed Williams as head surgeon of Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Related Posts
-
When was the first successful blood transfusion performed and by whom?
Before people discovered the mysteries of blood type, transfusions were a hit-or-miss procedure. Some historians believe that the Incas may have been the first to do successful blood transfusions. If that's true, what…
-
What Is the Ceremony That Is Performed Before a Sumo Match Called and How Is dohyō-iri Performed?
Each sumo match is preceded by an elaborate ceremony called dohyō-iri which is based on Shintoist traditions. The judges file into the ring with attendants and sword bearers. Each official is supplied with…
-
Why Do Doors Open Outward On Public Buildings and Open Inward On a House Or Apartment?
Doors generally open outward on public buildings as a precaution against fire. If dozens of people have to rush for the exit, they won't have to fight to pull the door inward against…
-
Is Your Heart Anything Like a Valentine Heart?
Valentine hearts come in all sizes, but a real heart, the one inside the human body, doesn't look anything like them. Make a fist with your hand. That's about the size and shape…
-
Why Doesn’t the Heart Muscle Get Tired and How Is the Heart Different From Other Muscles In the Body?
The heart muscle is a special hardworking kind found nowhere else in the body, though it can get very tired when deprived of oxygen in a heart attack and can get stronger through…
-
What Are the Heart Health Benefits Of Aspirin and How Does Aspirin Help Prevent Heart Attacks?
The heart health benefits of aspirin are unique to the drug, and is often recommended to help prevent heart attacks. Aspirin may have multiple effects, but it is likely that its impact in…
