First open heart surgery
In 1893 at Provident Hospital in Chicago a injured man named James Cornish entered the hospital with a stab wound. The surgeon on duty at the time was Dr. Daniel Hale Williams who on that day became the first surgeon in the world to perform open heart surgery. For James Cornish to continue to live Dr. William had to repair a tear in the lining of the heart. The only way for Dr. Williams’s to do so was to perform open heart surgery which had never been done before. This event is significant because it was the start of a medical process that many surgeons were not willing to try. Due to Dr. Williams’s courage to perform open heart surgery for the first time many lives have been saved and continue to be saved today.
"Vaccine Timeline ." History of Vaccines . The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Jan. 2013. Web. 6 Jan. 2014. <http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/timelines/>.
"Vaccine Timeline ." History of Vaccines . The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Jan. 2013. Web. 6 Jan. 2014. <http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/timelines/>.