Sir Brian Barratt-Boyes Heart Surgeon

Samantha Wright

Life Details•Sir Brian Barratt-Boyes was born on January 13,1924 in

Wellington, New Zealand.

•He married Norma Thompson in 1949 and they had five sons. The marriage was dissolved in 1986 and he then married Sara Monestar.

•He was an outstanding pianist and at one stage considered a concert career.

•He retired in 1988.

•Sir Brian underwent heart surgery himself in the United States at the age of 82, and died two weeks later on the 8th March 2006.

Education

•Educated at Wellington College, he attended Victoria University and graduated at Otago Medical school in 1946.

Where was his work?•He continued with his training as a surgeon in New

Zealand and then the United States, spending two years at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. After medical school in 1957, Brian came back from the United States and worked at Auckland Greenlane Hospital.

•In 1958 Brian performed the first operation on cardiopulmonary bypass (the heart is stopped and the person is

kept alive by a machine) in New Zealand at Green Lane Hospital, Auckland.

What did he do?•Sir Brian Barratt-Boyes was a talented

heart surgeon, who developed techniques to replace heart valves that weren't working.

•His techniques using deep hypothermia (coldness) and circulatory arrest (stopping the heart) which had been developed in Japan, had excellent results especially for babies who needed heart surgery.

•He was said to be "enormously dedicated, a brilliant teacher and a superb technician".

•In 1958 he performed the first operation on cardiopulmonary bypass in New Zealand at Green Lane Hospital, Auckland.

Achievements

•In 1962 he became only the second heart surgeon in the world to replace a heart valve.

•Sir Brian made history by developing techniques to replace defective heart valves, using homograft aortic valves for aortic valve replacement.

•Sir Brian was honoured in 1995 by having his face appear on a New Zealand postage stamp. (see photo on last page)

•Barratt‐Boyes was appointed CBE in 1966 and knighted in 1971.

•He published many papers, mostly about homograft valves and surgery for congenital heart disease.

•He was asked to speak at many international meetings and in 1985 he and his friend John Kirklin, published their famous book 'Cardiac Surgery', which became the book doctors used for heart surgery. (see photo on last page)

•He was made the first Honorary Professor of the University of Auckland in 1971.

Qualifications and Rewards •He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the American

College of Surgeons in 1977, the Royal College of Surgeons in 1985, and the American College of Cardiology in 1989.

•He was awarded an Honorary DSc by Colorado University in 1985. He was President of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand from 1986–1987.

•In 1971 Brian was formally recognised for his achievements and skills in heart valve surgery and received a knighthood by the Queen gaining the title of Sir Brian Barratt-Boyes.