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This Article Extract Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Valluvan Jeevanandam Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Jeevanandam, V. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Jeevanandam, V.

The History of Cardiothoracic Surgery from Early Times

Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Authored by Raymond Hurt
ISBN 1-85070-681-6, List Price $98USD/£58
The Parthenon Publishing Group, New York, London

Cardiac surgery is a multifaceted discipline. It requires the knowledge of circulatory physiology along with technical expertise, artistry, and courage. Who were the pioneers who made current-day cardiac and thoracic surgery routine? How were the concepts of blood circulation, blood transfusion, lung resection, and heart operations developed? The information has always been available but not in one comprehensive and accessible volume. Raymond Hurt fills that very important void in his book The History of Cardiothoracic Surgery From Early Times. The book combines the features of a detailed and all encompassing reference book with the readability of a novel.

The book is divided into three sections. The first deals with concepts of circulatory physiology – the foundation of modern-day surgery. The second section relates to pulmonary surgery and the final section deals with cardiac surgery. Each chapter details the history of a particular concept such as the discovery of blood circulation, development of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, treatment of tuberculosis, treatment of thoracic trauma, or mitral stenosis. Within each section, an unbiased chronology of events is depicted from ancient times to currently accepted concepts. Many mistakes and misconceptions were made in the past but each step led to today's ideas, just as we will undoubtedly progress from today to the future.

The book, true to its title, covers ancient times to the present. However, the present is only until 1950, the time of introduction of the cardiopulmonary bypass machine and the beginning of an explosive growth in cardiac surgery. That is the major deficiency of the book, since a history of cardiac surgery is incomplete without the last 40 years. More has been developed in terms of equipment and technical expertise in the last 40 years than in the previous centuries. One would hope that the excellent chronicles of early times depicted in this book would be followed up by a second volume extending history to the present era.

Raymond Hurt has done a masterful job of combining an exhaustive reference text with a good read. If anyone was interested in, for example, the evolution of the treatment of bronchiectasis, this book supplies a detailed analysis of the evolution of concepts as well as the people who developed them. The detail is sufficient for most purposes, further information can be obtained from the list of pertinent references. Students, historians, and surgeons interested in the colorful past that has established the foundation of our field of expertise will find this book valuable and enjoyable. Raymond Hurt takes the reader on a journey through history in a brisk, concise, and comprehensive manner. The reader is awed by the bravery, courage, and creativity of the pioneers in the field. These scholars were sometimes wrong and sometimes so radical that they were ridiculed and threatened with bodily harm but each concept slowly changed the way of thinking and advanced the field.

Many history books on cardiac and thoracic surgery focus on practitioners of the last century. However, modern thoracic surgery was established from a foundation of medical and physiological knowledge gathered over thousands of years. This is the only book available that chronicles those events and makes this a fascinating topic. The book is a vehicle to understand the past and create stimulation for the future.

In conclusion, Raymond Hurt in The History of Cardiothoracic Surgery From Early Times has written a book that can be used for reference or for enjoyable reading. That is a rare combination not found in most manuscripts.

This Article Extract Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Valluvan Jeevanandam Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Jeevanandam, V. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Jeevanandam, V.