Open-Heart-Surgery Pioneer C. Walton Lillehei Dies

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, who was regarded as the father of open-heart surgery and trained hundreds of other surgeons including heart-transplant pioneer Christiaan Barnard, died of cancer Monday. He was 80.

Dr. Lillehei created many innovative heart-surgery techniques while a surgery professor at the University of Minnesota. He also worked at Cornell Medical Center-New York Hospital.

On Sept. 2, 1952, Dr. Lillehei and 5-year-old Jackie Johnson, who suffered from a life-threatening heart defect, made medical history when the little girl became the first person to successfully undergo open-heart surgery.

Before then, repairs were impossible because doctors lacked the ability to stop circulation safely so they could work inside the heart.

Surgeons took 19 hours to lower her body temperature 17 degrees, wrapping her in rubber blankets that conducted a cold alcohol solution. They cut off all blood flow in her body for 5 1/2 minutes while they worked inside the heart.

In 1955, Lillehei led the development of a machine to oxygenate blood and pump it through the patient's body, making open-heart surgery easier.

In 1957, he worked with Medtronic co-founder Earl Bakken to develop the first wearable pacemaker for patients with chronic complete heart block. He also contributed to the design of four artificial heart valves.

At age 55, Dr. Lillehei had to give up surgery when he developed cataracts. He turned to writing and administration, continuing to lecture on open-heart surgery.

Dr. Lillehei is survived by his wife, Kaye, and three children.