J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2009;137:1309-1310
© 2009 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery
Tribute to a pioneer: Viking Olov Björk, 1918–2009
Francis Robicsek, MD, PhD
Carolinas Heart Institute, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC
Received for publication March 24, 2009; accepted for publication March 24, 2009.
| The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below. |
In 1947 I demonstrated the possibilities for open-heart surgery on dogs by means of a heart–lung machine with a spinning disc oxygenator, with the aid of a volume–regulated Engstrom respirator, evolved for the use in poliomyelitis. I was the first to introduce postoperative intensive care for cases with bilateral pulmonary or severe heart disease. In the course of lung surgery I conceived the technique of complete left-sided heart catheterization. I then systematically worked on cases of heart valve disease, and in 1969 introduced an improved artificial heart valve. Various congenital malformations presented major challenges for me to understand and surgically correct. My wife Ingegerd, a chemical engineer, has through all these years given tremendous help and support in my work....
These are the introductory words to the autobiography of the great Scandinavian surgeon Viking Björk.
Björk was one of the last living pioneers of cardiothoracic surgery. He was born on December 3, 1918, in Sunnansjö, Sweden, and received his medical education at three different Swedish universities: Lund, Uppsala, and Malmö. In 1942, Björk worked as a fellow in Italy under Vincenzo Monaldi, studying tuberculosis. His scientific report, "The Treatment Of Tuberculotic Lung Cavities According to . . . [Full Text of this Article]
Copyright © 2009 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery.
