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King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery
Few of the great stories of medicine are as palpably dramatic as the invention of open-heart surgery, yet, until now, no journalist has ever brought all of the thrilling specifics of this triumph to life.
This is the story of the surgeon many call the father of open-heart surgery, Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, who, along with colleagues at University Hospital in Minneapolis and a small band of pioneers elsewhere, accomplished what many experts considered to be an impossible feat: He opened the heart, repaired fatal defects, and made the miraculous routine.
Acclaimed author G. Wayne Miller draws on archival research and exclusive interviews with Lillehei and legendary pioneers such as Michael DeBakey and Christiaan Barnard, taking readers into the lives of these doctors and their patients as they progress toward their landmark achievement. In the tradition of works by Richard Rhodes and Tracy Kidder, King of Hearts tells the story of an important and gripping piece of forgotten science history.
This is the story of the surgeon many call the father of open-heart surgery, Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, who, along with colleagues at University Hospital in Minneapolis and a small band of pioneers elsewhere, accomplished what many experts considered to be an impossible feat: He opened the heart, repaired fatal defects, and made the miraculous routine.
Acclaimed author G. Wayne Miller draws on archival research and exclusive interviews with Lillehei and legendary pioneers such as Michael DeBakey and Christiaan Barnard, taking readers into the lives of these doctors and their patients as they progress toward their landmark achievement. In the tradition of works by Richard Rhodes and Tracy Kidder, King of Hearts tells the story of an important and gripping piece of forgotten science history.
302 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
January 31, 2021
Although a biography of Dr Walt Lillihei, this is a medical story and history of cardiac medicine. Many people were key contributors.
Technical inventions:
Page 103 Heart Catheterization: Nobel Prize winner, Werner Forssmann, 1920s Berlin (Berlin Babylon era) did a heart Catheterization on himself. Climbed upstairs to radiology department took an X-ray to check whether or not the catheter was in the heart, almost passed out. Fellow doctors thought he had committed suicide.
Page 127 Anesthesia: Before anesthesiology was a named medical speciality, before ventilators, before pulse oximeters, and timely blood-gas analysis, after ether soaked rags were abandoned, other explosive gases were used (cyclopropane). One estimate in 1954, 130 explosions in American operating rooms, 30 were fatal. The worst accidents took out a doctor or nurse, as well as patients.
Heart Lung perfusion: Pages 130-131: Cross circulation with beer hose between parent and baby, was forerunner of machines. Page 170-171 Dewall/Lillihei bubble oxygenator, $15 Heart Lung perfusion machines.
Pacemaker: Page 196-197. In 1957 Earl Bakken, worked with Dr Lillihei to invent portable pacemaker. Eventually became Medtronic.
Data collection: Page 116-117. Dr Jesse Edwards pathologist at Mayo Clinic, had saved every heart from every autopsy since early in the century. Dr Edwards believed his collection of hearts belonged to science. Dr Lillihei and team, found 50 hearts with VSD (ventral septal defects). Page 118. The doctors had examined 50 hearts and found NO TWO WERE EXACTLY THE SAME. (Caps mine)
In the spring of 2020, like the rest of the world, I found out about Covid-19. Like many others I started making masks. Three design iterations and material scarcity work arounds (fabric, elastic, ties, nose pieces) we discovered ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL.
I am the beneficiary of this work and sacrifice having a VSD repaired in 1963.
Technical inventions:
Page 103 Heart Catheterization: Nobel Prize winner, Werner Forssmann, 1920s Berlin (Berlin Babylon era) did a heart Catheterization on himself. Climbed upstairs to radiology department took an X-ray to check whether or not the catheter was in the heart, almost passed out. Fellow doctors thought he had committed suicide.
Page 127 Anesthesia: Before anesthesiology was a named medical speciality, before ventilators, before pulse oximeters, and timely blood-gas analysis, after ether soaked rags were abandoned, other explosive gases were used (cyclopropane). One estimate in 1954, 130 explosions in American operating rooms, 30 were fatal. The worst accidents took out a doctor or nurse, as well as patients.
Heart Lung perfusion: Pages 130-131: Cross circulation with beer hose between parent and baby, was forerunner of machines. Page 170-171 Dewall/Lillihei bubble oxygenator, $15 Heart Lung perfusion machines.
Pacemaker: Page 196-197. In 1957 Earl Bakken, worked with Dr Lillihei to invent portable pacemaker. Eventually became Medtronic.
Data collection: Page 116-117. Dr Jesse Edwards pathologist at Mayo Clinic, had saved every heart from every autopsy since early in the century. Dr Edwards believed his collection of hearts belonged to science. Dr Lillihei and team, found 50 hearts with VSD (ventral septal defects). Page 118. The doctors had examined 50 hearts and found NO TWO WERE EXACTLY THE SAME. (Caps mine)
In the spring of 2020, like the rest of the world, I found out about Covid-19. Like many others I started making masks. Three design iterations and material scarcity work arounds (fabric, elastic, ties, nose pieces) we discovered ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL.
I am the beneficiary of this work and sacrifice having a VSD repaired in 1963.
January 5, 2016
How can you make a very interesting book out of a surgeons biography, interesting for a surgeon and for a non-medical as well. This imminent surgeon's right for appreciation has been wasted for long. I enjoyed the read and was stunned by what that surgeon accomplished and his contributions for the heart surgery, yet never heard of him before.
September 14, 2024
I laughed, legit cried, gasped and made every noise you can imagine. This true life story of the invention of open heart surgery had so much tragedy and loss of life (including littles which made me cry!), but made massive enhancements that have saved so many more. The author is very graphic with the details, and I honestly thought I might faint at some points. The main doctor detailed here was a co-founder of the global company I work for, so it was fascinating to see the life of the man behind his invention.
July 12, 2021
Our biology is nothing short of a miracle and I'm fascinated by medical books because they give me a sliver of a glimpse of that miraculousness. This book is about the development of heart surgery told through the story of Walt Lillehei (who they call the father of heart surgery). It blew me away. It starts at a point when surgeons believed we would never in existence be able to operate inside the heart. They said it was just too complex. Too elusive. Lillehei's boldness and genius proved them all wrong. He was always experimenting and continuously progressing. Something worked until it didn't, then he discovered a better way. Induced hypothermia, aorta/venae cava restriction, cross circulation (having a live donor's heart used to pump blood through the patient). Then eventually Lillehei invented a simple heart lung machine which cost $15 which basically took over the patient's heart's job while the heart was operated on. This book isn't for everyone but if you're a nerd for medical books, I'd definitely recommend it. I don't know if it classifies as a memoir or biography or medical drama but it feels like all of them combined.
March 19, 2018
Great read for medical geeks! Not too technical and did a great job of following the fascinating development of open heart surgery. Here’s my favorite quote: “You don’t enter the wilderness expecting to find a paved road.” True for so many things in life!
October 19, 2020
This book is incredible because it’s nonfiction but written like a novel. I also didn’t know about cross circulation and all the other crazy experiments they used to achieve open heart surgery. We are very lucky we have the advances we do today!
August 3, 2025
Had to read for school but lowkey so good. Kept me captivated at every chapter
August 19, 2020
I just loved this book so much - so many elements. A Norwegian Minnesotan, pioneering open heart surgery at the University of Minnesota in the years my parents were born. Working in cardiac research myself a full 60+ years later really puts everything in perspective. Truly a phenomenal biography of a great surgeon and of advancements in medicine in the last 70 years.
August 23, 2022
Interesting information. A bore to read.
August 3, 2022
Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, often called Walt, was born in Minnesota. He followed in his father's footsteps, as he was also a doctor. He was an extremely well educated man, earning four degrees at the University of Minnesota. He began perfecting his surgical career at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. He tried out a new technique whereby a patient was hooked up to a donor patient to keep the heart pumping and oxygenated while undergoing surgery. He performed such a surgery on a child with a ventricular defect, which I found extremely interesting for a personal reason I will mention at the end of this review. He and his colleagues also did the first heart catheterization puncture. He also used the world's first external pacemaker. He was also a gifted teacher, instructing many students in cardiac surgery, and did try to keep up with all new information to hone his skills. He won several awards for his work in the cardiac surgery field. He died in 1999 at the age of 80.
I happened across this book and read it a while back. I have no idea why in the world I got so behind in my reviews and marking my things as read? Either way, here we are. I picked it up because I was interested in the history of open heart surgery. My mom is nurse, so I have always loved gross and morbid things, but the real interest was because my little cousin was born with a heart defect and has had several heart surgeries. I enjoyed learning about this man who pioneered so many procedures and to see how far this medical specialty has evolved today. This was a really interesting read. I hated that it didn't have pictures of the doctor, so I Googled him. When I did, I found out that he also had a brother who was a doctor. His brother was a transplant surgeon, and transplanted the first pancreas that was successful. If it said that in the book, I missed it, but it was neat to see how this family had so many medically keen minds. If you are interested in heart surgery for any reason, I would say give this a try.
I happened across this book and read it a while back. I have no idea why in the world I got so behind in my reviews and marking my things as read? Either way, here we are. I picked it up because I was interested in the history of open heart surgery. My mom is nurse, so I have always loved gross and morbid things, but the real interest was because my little cousin was born with a heart defect and has had several heart surgeries. I enjoyed learning about this man who pioneered so many procedures and to see how far this medical specialty has evolved today. This was a really interesting read. I hated that it didn't have pictures of the doctor, so I Googled him. When I did, I found out that he also had a brother who was a doctor. His brother was a transplant surgeon, and transplanted the first pancreas that was successful. If it said that in the book, I missed it, but it was neat to see how this family had so many medically keen minds. If you are interested in heart surgery for any reason, I would say give this a try.
March 26, 2021
I really enjoyed reading about Dr. Walt Lillehei, who has been called the father of open-heart surgery and other heart health innovations at the University of MN . There was a lot of history about the large number of innovative techniques and concepts for the heart developed at the UofM, as well as work on at Mayo, and by other contributors. It also mentioned Earl Bakken and his work on the pacemaker. It made me proud of MN for trailblazing these achievements and made me more grateful for everyone impacted as the results and solutions evolved. My mother has benefitted from a lot of what has been accomplished in this field. She wouldn't have the opportunities to recover without the ingenuity and persistence of those pioneers and those who supported and trusted them.
I am always sorry to read about the failures in personal lives of people who have accomplished so much professionally and for the world.
It amazed me to read about all the work they did with experiments on dogs, due to the similarities in dog and human hearts. I by no means would ever advocate for animal cruelty. But this book made me ponder whether the advancements they made would have been accomplished in similar timeframes without the use of dog experiments. And how many more lives would have been negatively impacted and lost without those opportunities. And timing is everything. A highly publicized successful surgery happened just prior to a vote on whether to outlaw dogs being used in laboratory research. Votes went in favor of allowing animal testing on an issue that was close prior to the successful surgery. The newspaper description of how testing the new procedure on dogs first was critical to the success of the surgery.
I am always sorry to read about the failures in personal lives of people who have accomplished so much professionally and for the world.
It amazed me to read about all the work they did with experiments on dogs, due to the similarities in dog and human hearts. I by no means would ever advocate for animal cruelty. But this book made me ponder whether the advancements they made would have been accomplished in similar timeframes without the use of dog experiments. And how many more lives would have been negatively impacted and lost without those opportunities. And timing is everything. A highly publicized successful surgery happened just prior to a vote on whether to outlaw dogs being used in laboratory research. Votes went in favor of allowing animal testing on an issue that was close prior to the successful surgery. The newspaper description of how testing the new procedure on dogs first was critical to the success of the surgery.
May 4, 2021
Often I find myself fascinated by the history of surgery, especially after finishing a nicely done surgery, and wonder how many years of improvisations and experimentations lend themselves to my confidence in the moves I make. I always promise myself I would read about how things came to this. Somehow when I make such plans, I expect to that i want to read about great people doing extraordinary things and how all things fall just right for them, how they wake up with the right ideas. It's not, though. There is usually one insane person who is not deterred by administrative hurdles (more difficult to navigate in reality than you'd like) or failures (which often means an uncomfortable number of deaths at your hand) or loss of the ever eluding "surgical reputation". Every surgery has contributions of not only great surgeons, but great patients and their great caretakers who had the mad courage to consent to trials. History of medicine is mad; and history of surgery, especially paediatric cardiac surgery is just plain outrageous. Thanks to these guys, esp Dr Lilleihei, such surgeries are safe and people born with defective hearts can live a normal life. It was truly inspiring and is a must read for any surgeon who wants to develop the critical thinking for hopefully making your own world-changing improvisations one day.
January 3, 2023
Ok how often do we pause and reflect on what all had to happen for us to have most surgeries with relative ease (functionality wise)? Probably not often, heck, me neither. This (TRUE) story of Dr. Lillehei who first pioneered open heart surgery in the 1950s sucked me right in.
Think about it, there were no CT scans or MRIs in 1953, none of the tools that have since made diagnosis of heart disease computer precise. Nada. All a doctor had back then was a stethoscope, X Ray, electrocardiogram and cardiac catherization. A conclusive analysis really only came out when the heart of the patient lay open on the table. (eek!!!)
Lillehei pioneered the unknown and it's an incredible story of his ingenuity (WARNING: vivisection (particularly of dogs) is a biiiiig thing going on here so you may not enjoy this very much).
Experiments began with the dog lung, self lung, arterial reservoir, cross circulation. That's where we started.
Dr. Lillehei and DeWall created the first version of a contraption to get rid of air in the bloodstream during surgery. How? a beer hose, some metal stands, a cork, a plastic tube, a reservoir, needles and two filters. That's it.
I am so impressed with the ingenuity of how this new space (cardiology) became the start of something incredible in the field of cardiology.
Such a good and fascinating read.
Think about it, there were no CT scans or MRIs in 1953, none of the tools that have since made diagnosis of heart disease computer precise. Nada. All a doctor had back then was a stethoscope, X Ray, electrocardiogram and cardiac catherization. A conclusive analysis really only came out when the heart of the patient lay open on the table. (eek!!!)
Lillehei pioneered the unknown and it's an incredible story of his ingenuity (WARNING: vivisection (particularly of dogs) is a biiiiig thing going on here so you may not enjoy this very much).
Experiments began with the dog lung, self lung, arterial reservoir, cross circulation. That's where we started.
Dr. Lillehei and DeWall created the first version of a contraption to get rid of air in the bloodstream during surgery. How? a beer hose, some metal stands, a cork, a plastic tube, a reservoir, needles and two filters. That's it.
I am so impressed with the ingenuity of how this new space (cardiology) became the start of something incredible in the field of cardiology.
Such a good and fascinating read.
October 29, 2023
Recommended to me by one of the surgeons I work with, this book is an eye-opening and heart-breaking look at the development of open heart surgery and surgical techniques. Well-written and very well researched, this non-fiction account gives both medical professionals and laypeople alike an understandable and griping tale of loss and heart break (literally) but also the victorious and life saving discoveries made that still extend life and improved heart health for millions across the globe.
March 25, 2025
i shed a tear or two okay?? it’s fine! truly remarkable and incredible stuff. i’m just so in awe of all those guys who fucking tinker tankered away in a lab and now we can do transplants and artificial hearts and all the crazy shit seen on the daily. not too long ago not even a thought not even an idea. i love it. lillehei and co you will always be famous <3
January 25, 2019
I’m a recent nursing school grad and will be working in a cardiac ICU. This book was so interesting for me and I loved every minute spent reading it. I’m not usually one to enjoy biographies/nonfiction but I couldn’t put this one down. I would highly recommend!
February 17, 2020
Great history of an amazing field. Its amazing what could be done back then. Every chapter was like....and another child patient died, but not as quick this time. The days before irb....
Writing was a little basic/amateur but just learning the history was great
Writing was a little basic/amateur but just learning the history was great
June 21, 2021
Read in preparation for my program in cardiovascular perfusion. It was a great introduction to the history and development of open heart surgery. I didn’t expect this one to be a page-turner, but it was!
October 2, 2022
Surprisingly readable, interesting and engaging. I was unaware of how progress was made in open heart surgery and this book filled that gap, delving into the professional life of a man driven to fix this situation. Also covers issues that clouded his reputation later in life.
May 16, 2025
Awesome book! I read it before perfusion school and it really gave me tons of insight into the world of cardiac-thoracic surgery. I'm not one to read medical books as I'm already surrounded by medicine everyday but this was a fantastic read.
May 9, 2019
Fascinating read. Can’t believe how little I knew about the evolution of pediatric cardiac surgery. Great book!
July 15, 2020
Very interesting! It’s truly amazing how far medicine has come!
September 30, 2020
Fantastic story a must read for any surgeon
December 25, 2021
really well written. brings this surgeon and his remarkable achievements to life and makes a non-fiction topic extremely readable.
February 27, 2022
Perhaps a little too melodramatic, and written based on notes and recollections of conversations, but still very interesting from a historical perspective.
Read
September 30, 2022Don't like biographies unsurprisingly enough, just like wikipedia
March 13, 2023
Such an interesting book on the history of open heart surgery.
March 24, 2023
I held my breath while reading. A great history of the pioneers, breakthroughs, triumphs and unsung heroes in heart surgery.
February 9, 2024
When my father tells me to read a book, I read it.
September 6, 2024
Horny stuff, big recommend
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews