C. Walton Lillehei and total correction of tetralogy of Fallot

In March 1954, an operating team headed by C. Walton Lillehei introduced the technique of cross circulation for the first-ever total corrections of ventricular septal defect, tetralogy of Fallot, and atrioventricular canal. Ten of 45 patients operated on with this technique of cardiopulmonary bypass had correction of tetralogy of Fallot, and the results with these 10 patients were reported in a landmark article. The operative results achieved in 1954 and 1955 by Lillehei and his team using cross circulation were truly remarkable. In addition, the University of Minnesota team concomitantly developed a host of new techniques and biomedical devices that made subsequent cardiac operative procedures safer and simpler to perform. These techniques and devices included the first ventricular septal defect prosthetic patch, the first right ventricular outflow patch, the first clinically applicable bubble oxygenator, and the first intramyocardial electrode used in combination with an external pacemaker for a patient with complete heart block.