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In this blog, we’ll explore the answer to the question, “How many hearts are in Kansas City?” We’ll look at the city’s history, present, and future to try to answer this question.
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The History of the Heart
The first heart transplant
The first heart transplant was performed in 1967 by a South African surgeon, Christiaan Barnard. The patient, Louis Washkansky, was a 54-year-old man with incurable heart disease. The donor was a young woman who had been declared brain-dead after a car accident. The transplant was not successful in the long term, and Washkansky died 18 days later from pneumonia. However, the technique proved that it was possible to transplant a heart, and subsequent attempts were more successful.
The first heart surgery
In 1832, French physician Jean-Baptiste Ettienne was the first to successfully sew two hearts together. He did this by connecting the arteries of two dogs. The surgery was not intended to save the lives of the animals, but rather to prove that it could be done.
Ettienne’s experiment was successful, but it would be another thirty years before surgeons attempted to sew hearts together in humans. In 1864, English surgeon Thomas Spencer Wells tried (and failed) to connect the arteries of two young boys. The boys died within hours of the surgery.
It would be another fifty years before surgeons tried again. In 1914, German physician Leo Buerger performed what is considered to be the first successful surgery to repair hole-in-the-heart defect in a human patient. Buerger’s patient was a five-year-old boy who had been born with a hole in his heart. The surgery was a success and the boy went on to live a normal life.
The Heart of America
The first heart transplant in America
The first heart transplant in America happened in Kansas City on December 3, 1967. Dr. Thomas Starzl transplanted the heart of a 25-year-old man into the chest of a 54-year-old man named Louis Washkansky. The surgery was a success, and Washkansky lived for 18 days before dying from pneumonia.
The first heart surgery in America
The first heart surgery in America was performed in 1893 by Dr. Daniel Hale Williams in Chicago. He repaired a stab wound to the heart of a young man named James Cornish. The surgery was considered successful, and Cornish made a full recovery.
Williams was a surgeon atCook County Hospital, where he also established the first training program for black surgeons in America. He went on to perform many more surgeries, including bypass operations and valve replacements. In 1905, he founded Provident Hospital, the first black-owned and -operated hospital in the United States.
The Heart of Kansas City
The city of Kansas City is home to many heart transplants. The city receives hearts from all over the world, and the transplant process is very successful. In fact, the city has a higher success rate for heart transplants than any other city in the United States.
The first heart transplant in Kansas City
In 1968, the first heart transplant in Kansas City was performed at Saint Luke’s Hospital. The patient, a 38-year-old man, received the heart of a 25-year-old woman. The surgery was performed by a team of surgeons led by Dr. Denton Cooley.
The first heart surgery in Kansas City
The first heart surgery in Kansas City was performed in 1931 at St. Luke’s Hospital. In the early years, heart surgery was performed on an open-heart basis. The surgeon would stop the heart, open the chest cavity, and repair the damage. The patient would be kept alive by a machine that took over the function of the heart and lungs. This type of surgery was hazardous, and many patients did not survive.
