Anyone had Dr. Blalock's "blue baby" surgery?

Question

My husband asked me to post this question. He was born with a defective heart -- congenital heart disease. He was operated on in 1949 by Drs. Blalock and Taussig at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, when he was 3 years old. He was not a "blue baby", but the "blue baby" surgery was the only option to keep him alive at the time. He had open heart surgery, again at Hopkins, when he was 10 years old. He still has heart problems, but without those operations, he would not have lived very long. He is now 60 (almost 61) years old and has wondered if others were still around that had that same surgery performed by Drs. Blalock/Taussig?

Actually, my husband and I both watched the informative movie on television a few years ago about Dr. Blalock's great lab technician, the real "brains" behind the whole procedure. It was a strange feeling to actually see how this operation evolved that saved my husband's life. Great movie!

Answer 1

Katee - The procedure that Alfred Blalock, Helen Taussig and Vivan Thomas developed is called the Blalock-Taussig shunt, and was initially used most commonly on children with tetralogy of Fallot (the "blue babies"). I'm happy to hear your husband is continuing to do well, and it is important that he is followed by a cardiologist who is familiar with the issues that are unique to adults with congenital heart disease! This is a growing field, and the most experienced centers for ACHD in the United States right now are at Harvard, the Mayo Clinic, and UCLA.

If you want to get in touch with others who are still alive today thanks to the procedure that Blalock, Thomas and Taussig developed, I suggest you and your husband join the Adult Congenital Heart Association, the largest patient-run organization for adults with congenital heart diseases in the world. Their website is http://www.ACHAHeart.org and includes a message board where I guarantee there are plenty of people who know exactly what you and your husband live with! The oldest patients who had the BT shunt are now into their 70s! Hope that helps!

Answer 2

Actually the surgery should be named after Vivian Green Blalock's lab technician. If it weren't for him, there probably would have been no "blue baby" surgery technique. God bless your husband too it's great that he is doing fine! :)

Answer 3

WOW you must be my age! No offense. I thought I was the oldest one on here.
Intresting fact about your son. I am sure it its the blue baby surgery its a simple closing of a whole in the heart. He should live a normal healthy life. God Bless you and yours.