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| Home > News > Pre-2004 News |
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St. John's Hammons Heart Institute celebrates
30th Anniversary of Open-Heart Surgery
April 23, 2002
St. John's will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first open heart surgery at a reception and reunion at 11 a.m. April 24, 2002 on the patio at St. John's Hammons Heart Institute, 1235 E. Cherokee. The event will reunite cardiac surgeons and staff who were present that day.
On April 24, 1972, cardiac surgeons Ramon Shane, M.D. and Fritz Johnson, M.D. reached a medical milestone when they completed the first open-heart bypass surgery at St. John's Regional Health Center. The cardiovascular surgery medical specialty was new to southwest Missouri and heart surgery soon became a hallmark field of St. John's.
"I was convinced we needed a heart program in Springfield," says Shane, who started the program in 1968. Johnson joined him in 1971.
"We started out by putting a healthy dog on a heart-lung machine, so the pump team could practice," said Shane, who is retired from surgery, but still reads films for St. John's vascular lab. "When I look back, I realize what a fantastic opportunity it was. It was a lot of fun. That first year, administration had us sleeping in the hospital."
Other team members on April 24, including Charles Wollard, perfusionist, Lynn Gaston, R.N., surgery and Darlene Vanderford, R.N., surgery, are still employed by St. John's.
"We have come a long way since that first case," says Wollard, who is now vice president over heart services at St. John's. "We now do 1000 cases a year and have one of the busiest cardiac programs in the region."
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