Vivien Thomas: Master Craftsman, Gifted Teacher, and Unsung Hero

摘要

The field of PEDIATRIC cardiovascular surgery gained international recognition in 1944 with the first successful correction of a tetralogy of Fallot congenital anomaly in a 15-month-old patient. Dr. Helen Taussig (1898 to 1986), a pediatrician at Johns Hopkins Hospital, recognized the need for the procedure. Dr. Alfred Blalock (1899 to 1964), Chief of Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, is credited with performing the surgery. However, there is an unsung hero who for many years did not receive a single mention in the medical literature. Vivien Thomas (1910 to 1985) was Dr. Blalock's research assistant who is said to have stood directly behind him during the ‘‘blue baby’’ procedures, providing Dr. Blalock with support and advice. Vivien Thomas Vivien Thomas was born in New Iberia, Louisiana, during a time of racial unrest. While Thomas was still a young child, his family relocated to Nashville, Tennessee.2 As a result of U.S. segregation laws, Thomas attended Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State College, one of the few institutions that admitted black students. He enrolled in 1929 with ambitions of becoming a physician. Unfortunately, the Great Depression caused the collapse of the banking system where Thomas' savings were kept. Thomas was only able to complete one semester of college before his funding ran out. With no money for tuition, Thomas' dream to become a physician was put on hold. He withdrew from school and began looking for work. In 1930, following the suggestion of a friend, Thomas applied for a position at Vanderbilt University in Dr. Alfred Blalock's laboratory and was hired immediately (Fig. 1). Alfred Blalock Alfred Blalock was born in Culloden, Georgia. In 1922, he graduated from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where he remained for an internship in urology because his academic performance was not considered sufficiently proficient for an internship in surgery. After only a few months of hard work, Dr. Blalock was offered a position in the general surgery program by Dr. John M. T. Finney, who became the acting Chief of Surgery after the death of Dr. William S. Halsted. Dr. Blalock later resigned from the general surgery program and entered the otolar-yngology program although the specific details of why are unclear. In 1925, after several years in different programs, Dr. Blalock left Johns Hopkins with intentions of studying in Boston. Dr. Blalock actually moved to Boston with plans to enter the general surgery program at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He never had the chance to unpack his bags in Boston. Adhering to the advice of his close friend, medical school roommate, and future author of internal medicine's most authoritative textbook, Dr. Tinsley Harrison, Dr. Blalock moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to enter the newly established general surgery residency program at Vanderbilt University Hospital.