Introduction

Medical advancement has been a series of small steps, each building on the work that came before it. The history of the diagnosis and treatment of heart and lung disease is no different.

Over the past few decades, incredible advances have been made in the diagnosis, treatment and research of heart and lung disease. Increased knowledge of the causes of asthma and other obstructive airway diseases has meant leaps forward in the effectiveness of care and the quality of life of those who suffer from such illnesses. While the heart was once thought of as forbidden territory for surgeons, cardiac surgery has become almost commonplace. Meanwhile, researchers continue to demand answers to questions about the causes and cures for heart and lung disease.

Examining the history of cardiac and pulmonary care and research at St. Paul’s offers a snapshot of worldwide developments in these fields. Despite its small size, St. Paul’s has been, and continues to be, a pioneer in cardiopulmonary care and research. St. Paul’s has grown from a small “cottage” hospital to one of the premier institutes in Canada for both research and treatment of heart and lung diseases.

History Highlights

1944, Dr. Selman Waksman isolates streptomycin from a fungus, marking the beginning of antibiotic treatment of tuberculosis.

1953, Dr. John Gibbons performs the first successful open-heart surgery using a heart-lung bypass machine.

1959, Dr. Harold Rice, the director of the Clinical Investigation Unit at St. Paul’s Hospital, designs and builds the only Canadian heart-lung bypass machine ever made.

1960, the first open-heart surgery at St. Paul’s is performed successfully to repair an atrial septal defect, or hole in the heart.

1964, Dr. Al Gerein, who would go on to become the head of Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgery at St. Paul’s, reports the first double and first triple valve replacement in Canadian medical literature.

1974, the Pulmonary Research Laboratory is opened by Drs. Jim Hogg and Peter Pare and research assistant Lisa Baille.

1980, Drs. Doris Kavanagh-Gray and Art Dodek perform the first angioplasty at St. Paul’s.

1999, Dr. John Webb performs the first percutaneous atrial septal defect and ventricular septal defect closures in BC at St. Paul’s.

To read more about the history of cardiac and respiratory care at St. Paul’s download the printable pdf version of Spirt of Discovery