Medicine is an art form. However, it wasn’t always that way. 1. Dr. Peter Safar University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Presbyterian We all know what CPR is. We all know that it saves lives. But who came up with it? You can thank Dr. Peter Safar, a pioneer in the field of critical care medicine and anesthesiology. Through the efforts of Safar, CPR is now one of the most widespread lifesaving maneuvers. In addition to advocating for learning CPR are healthcare providers, Safar saw the need for early intervention by bystanders who could revive a person by providing CPR right after the onset of cardiac arrest. Furthermore, Safar continued to build on his research to better treat victims of cardiac arrest by investigating hypothermia and its use in delaying death in order to give physicians more time to manage severe trauma or exsanguination, all for the prevention of long-term neurological damage. Safar is also credited with developing the first intensive care unit in the United States, forming the International Resuscitation Research Center (now known as the Safar Center) at the University of Pittsburgh, and much more. His long history of passion for the medical field and the ability to develop a unique perspective towards problems has raised him on a high pedestal of recognition. His work continues to be revered and progressed by physicians and researchers even today. If you know someone who has returned back from the jaws of death through the efforts of providers doing CPR, be thankful to Safar. He truly struggled against all odds to make it a medical practice for us all. 2. Dr. Thomas Starzl Source What does it mean to be accomplished? In my opinion, the best way to answer this question is by looking at the life of Dr. Thomas Starzl, a pioneer in the field of transplant medicine. With a wealth of experiences in the field of surgery, applying his precise skills with an unimaginable caseload during residency, Starzl began to show promising signs of success early on in his career. Working in a time when transplant medicine was facing multiple obstacles, he took on the challenge and conducted the first successful liver transplantation in the world. Building on his work with finding new treatments for the prevention of future rejection, Starzl helped thousands of patients with his knowledge and passed on his expertise to the next generation of young physicians as well as the world. It is said that there was a point in his career when he averaged close to one published paper every week, making him one of the most cited researchers in living memory. Capping off his career trajectory at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), Starzl continued his focus on transplant medicine research in order to constantly improve management strategies for patients. In addition, he is a passionate advocate for xenotransplantation as a potential method for solving the organ shortage crisis. Being the recipient of several awards and honors over his lifetime, Starzl has definitely made his mark in the field of medicine. 3. Dr. John Gibbon Cardiothoracic (CT) surgery is one of the most intricate specialties in the medical field today. Requiring a high degree of finesse and dedication, CT surgeons work tirelessly over long hours of operating time to treat some of the most complex pathologies. But how did this come to be? One of the major advances in the field came with the invention of the “heart-lung machine” (now known as cardiopulmonary bypass) by Dr. John Gibbon. After 20 years of persistent experimentation, thorough testing in cats as subjects, and constant refinement of the technology, Gibbon was able to successfully apply his method on a human patient. The basic purpose of cardiopulmonary bypass is to divert blood flow away from the heart and into the systemic circulation in order to allow surgeons to operate on the heart. This was a revolutionary development that made some of the most difficult procedures possible. While the initial model of the machine was only able to allow about 45 minutes of time on bypass without damaging the cardiac tissue, later developments improved the apparatus in order to allow much more time along with stagnation of cardiac contraction, further simplifying surgery on the heart. For his 20 years of committed efforts for the betterment of patient care, Gibbon will always be remembered as one of the most revered figures in medical history. 4. Dr. Walter Freeman While surgery has made some leaping advances into shining realms of recognition, it also has a dark past that many would like to forget. As it turns out, Dr. Walter Freeman is one of the major proponents of this history. Trained as a neurologist, Freeman was working at one of the nation largest hospitals for the mentally ill in Washington, D.C. Seeing patients with multiple different psychiatric disorders, including mania, depression, and anxiety, Freeman wanted to do something about it by discovering and rectifying a physical cerebral cause for the psychiatric manifestation. Driven forward by his own sense of ambition, arrogance, and confidence in success, Freeman built on Dr. Egas Moniz’s method of a frontal lobotomy and applied it to psychiatric patients, resecting down to the level of the thalamus (the center of human emotion believed to cause the symptoms). Initially, the procedure was a success, eliminating the anxious and depressive feelings of the first patients. However, a great majority of individuals were developing severe negative consequences, even ending up in vegetative states. Nevertheless, with the support of the media and his own reputation, Freeman continued to spread the success and use of frontal lobotomies through modified, quick “ice-pick” procedures that could be easily learned and performed even by hospital psychiatrists. As the medical community started to see the severe drawbacks of the procedure, it was eventually removed from widespread practice. However, Freeman still remains to be one of the most ambitious and well-known surgeons in history. 5. Dr. Harvey Cushing Surgeons are complex creatures. Given their strong commitments to their patients, personal interest in furthering research, and spreading their knowledge to the next generation, all while trying to balance it with a life outside of medicine, all this can leave surgeons to be quite volatile creatures. Dr. Harvey Cushing is a prime example of this kind of personality. A terror in the operating room, Cushing was often distinguished by his downright abusive nature towards his staff along with his inconsideration for anyone in general. However, despite of his drawbacks, Cushing’s accomplishments and excellence boosted him to a high platform in the medical community. Originally trained as a general surgeon, Cushing developed a keen interest in treating nervous system conditions, coining the term “meningioma” and being one of the pioneers in the study of the pituitary gland, opening up exploration in the field of endocrinology. By the end of his long career, he had operated on more than 2000 intracerebral tumors. With his passion for medicine and a long track record of success, history has bestowed him with the fitting epitaph of “Father of Modern Neurosurgery.” For readers familiar with Cushing’s syndrome (hypercortisolism) and Cushing’s triad (indicating increased intracranial pressures), you can thank Cushing for their discovery. 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