CaCa mentioned: Vivien Theodore Thomas to treat blue baby syndrome (aka, cyanotic heart disease)
Vivien Theodore Thomas (August 29, 1910[1] – November 26, 1985)[2] was an American laboratory supervisor who in the 1940s developed a procedure used to treat blue baby syndrome (now known as cyanotic heart disease).[3] He was the assistant to surgeon Alfred Blalock in Blalock's experimental animal laboratory at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and later at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Legacy[edit]
Having learned about Thomas on the day of his death, Washingtonian writer Katie McCabe brought his story to public attention in a 1989 article entitled "Like Something the Lord Made", which won the 1990 National Magazine Award for Feature Writing and inspired the PBS documentary Partners of the Heart,[4] which was broadcast in 2003 on PBS's American Experience and won the Erik Barnouw Award for Best History Documentary in 2004 from the Organization of American Historians.[57] McCabe's article, brought to Hollywood by Washington, D.C., dentist Irving Sorkin,[58] formed the basis for the Emmy- and Peabody Award–winning 2004 HBO film Something the Lord Made.
Thomas' legacy as an educator and scientist continued with the institution of the Vivien Thomas Young Investigator Awards, given by the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesiology beginning in 1996. In 1993, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation instituted the Vivien Thomas Scholarship for Medical Science and Research, sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline. In fall 2004, the Baltimore City Public School System opened the Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy. In the halls of the school hangs a replica of Thomas' portrait commissioned by his surgeon-trainees in 1969.[53] The Journal of Surgical Case Reports announced in January 2010 that its annual prizes for the best case report written by a doctor and best case report written by a medical student would be named after Thomas.[59]
Vanderbilt University Medical Center created the Vivien T. Thomas Award for Excellence in Clinical Research, recognizing excellence in conducting clinical research.[60] The award is named The Vivian T. Thomas award for Excellence in Clinical Research, not the "Vivian A. Thomas" award as cited from a June 20, 2019, article from the VUMC Reporter.
Vivien Thomas
| Dr. Vivien Thomas | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Thomas' 1969 portrait by Bob Gee. | |
| Born | Vivien Theodore Thomas August 29, 1910 |
| Died | November 26, 1985 (aged 75) |
| Education | Pearl High School |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Instructor of Surgery |
| Institutions | Johns Hopkins Hospital, Vanderbilt University Hospital |
| Research | Blue baby syndrome |
He was the assistant to surgeon Alfred Blalock
in Blalock's experimental animal laboratory at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and later at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Thomas was unique in that he did not have any professional education or experience in a research laboratory; however, he served as supervisor of the surgical laboratories at Johns Hopkins for 35 years. In 1976, Johns Hopkins awarded him an honorary doctorate and named him an Instructor of Surgery for the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.[3] 
Heart presenting a tetralogy of Fallot. A. pulmonic stenosis B. overriding aorta C. ventricular septal defect (VSD) D. right ventricular hypertrophy
Schematic representation of the Blalock–Thomas–Taussig anastomosis between the right subclavian artery and right pulmonary artery. A / initial anastomosis – B / modified anastomosis.
Without any education past high school, Thomas rose above poverty and racism to become a cardiac surgery pioneer and a teacher of operative techniques to many of the country's most prominent surgeons.
A PBS documentary, Partners of the Heart,[4] was broadcast in 2003 on PBS's American Experience. In the 2004 HBO movie Something the Lord Made, based on Katie McCabe's National Magazine Award–winning Washingtonian article of the same title, Vivien Thomas was portrayed by Mos Def.
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Movie based on true story Something the Lord Made
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIgZVmMAkiQ
