At the Beginning: The Groundbreaking Story of Vivien Thomas

In April 1952, at the age of three, I had open heart surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. My life was saved by two remarkable cardiologists, Alfred Blalock, MD, and Helen Taussig, MD, and a third important member of the team: Vivien Thomas, Blalock’s surgical assistant. I had pulmonary stenosis, a congenital heart condition that prevented me from walking more than a few steps. I was always tired, and my lips and fingernails had a bluish tinge. I was the classic “blue baby.” If it had not been for this team and, as I later learned, particularly Vivien Thomas, I would not have lived to my fourth birthday.

Vivien Thomas was born in 1910 in Louisiana; his family later moved to Tennessee. Thomas wanted to go to medical school – only a dream for a 19-year-old African American growing up in the South. In 1929 Thomas was accepted at Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial College (now Tennessee State University) but the stock market crash prevented him from attending college. Thomas became a carpenter to earn money but driving nails could not replace his dream of becoming a doctor. In 1930, to get closer to the world of medicine, Thomas applied for and was hired as the laboratory assistant to Blalock, a young Hopkins graduate who was then doing his residency at Vanderbilt University Hospital. Thomas was paid $12 per week; his official job title was janitor.

Working closely together in the Vanderbilt lab, Blalock and Thomas initially conducted experiments on surgical shock and kidney function. They developed a solid working relationship, but they also became close personal friends. When Blalock moved to Hopkins in 1941 to become Chief of Surgery, he made sure that Thomas came with him to continue as his surgical assistant. A few years later, after teaming up with Taussig, a pediatric cardiologist, the three of them developed the famous blue baby operation, which was first performed in 1944 by Blalock with Thomas at his elbow. By 1952, Blalock and Thomas had performed dozens of blue baby operations at Hopkins.

Fortunately, in 1952 my parents and I lived in Baltimore. My pediatrician could tell from my condition and appearance that I had some congenital heart defect and urged my parents to have me examined by Taussig. Because of a childhood hearing loss, she used her fingertips to listen to my heart, and concluded that I most likely had pulmonary stenosis.

Taussig took my case to Blalock and Thomas and suggested that they perform open heart surgery to ascertain the precise nature of my congenital heart defect, and to perform any possible repair. Although Blalock thought performing open heart surgery on patients as young as three substantially increased the risk that the patient would not survive the surgery, Taussig told them that without surgery I would not live long anyway. Blalock agreed to perform the operation.

On the morning of April 5, 1952 – Blalock’s 53rd birthday – I was wheeled into an operating room and placed on a block of ice to lower my heart rate. After I was anesthetized, Blalock, with Thomas by his side, opened my chest cavity and they quickly examined my heart. They concluded my problem was caused by a malfunctioning pulmonary value. Blalock confirmed that the valve was not opening and closing properly. I was told years later that Thomas used his finger to open the valve fully. After a few minutes, Blalock and Thomas were convinced that the valve now was functioning properly, and Blalock closed my chest cavity. The entire procedure would not have lasted more than one hour.

There is no question that the remarkable partnership among Thomas, Blalock and Taussig enabled me to live a full and healthy life for the past 70 years. Although Thomas was never able to fulfill his dream of becoming a physician, he played a crucial role in the operating room for hundreds of children with a congenital heart condition. In 1976, Thomas received an honorary doctorate from Hopkins, and his portrait now hangs in the Blalock Building along with dozens of other famous heart surgeons.

The amazing story of Thomas, Blalock and Taussig is the first chapter in the important work now being carried forward by the Adult Congenital Heart Association. I am proud to be part of this story – now and at the beginning.

Vivien Thomas photo credit: Vanderbilt University Medical Center