Medical History Made At Greenlane Hospital
Press Assoelationl
(Per
AUCKLAND, June 17. Medical history was made at the Greenlane Hospital this week wben for A the lirst time in New Zealarid a team of r surgeons, anaesthetists, physicians. and nurses co-operated in an operation whieh involved removing part of the main artery ' leading from a young man's heart — an example of the amazing advanees whieh have been made m recent years in al'terial surgery. The operation was successful and the pati ent has sinee made good progress. The patient, who was about 20 years of age, was suffering from coretatioti or constrietion of the Aorta, the main artery leading from the heart. The cha-nnel of the artery sliould have been about the width of an adult's thumb but was constricted to approximately the diameter of a pencil point. The condition had been present sinee the man's birth and the progressive effijet of the back pressure which the con striction placed on the heart was lead-.' ing to invalidism and was likely ti.; have become fatal at an early age. / The operation, which took live hours to perform, consisted of opening the ehest to expose the heart, and the aor ta artery was then clamped on each side of the constrietion whieh was cui away. The two ends were joined and the clamps were slowly released. Aftei the pulsations had been observed for 'some time and it had been determined that the artery was sound.tlie chest was again elosed. During the operation sufficient blood cireulated through the eollateral vessels around the heart to lceep the patient alive. The medieal superintendent of the Greenlane Hospital (Dr. C. B. Gilbert) said the suceess of the operation was due to excellent. team work on tln* part of the surgeons, anaesthetists, physicians and members of the nursing staff. The first operation of this kind. per formed in Australia was published- onlv in recent montlis, and it was understood that there had previouslySl fieexUonly, about 20 in the world. Some of the surd geons .eoncerned in the Greenlane case'had iuvestigated that type of oper^tioi^l overseas & •
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Bibliographic details
Chronicle (Levin), 18 June 1949, Page 6
Word Count
349Medical History Made At Greenlane Hospital Chronicle (Levin), 18 June 1949, Page 6
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