Something the Lord Made

Abstract

When Alfred Blalock (1899–1965), the pioneer Hopkins surgical professor, saw the pulmonary artery suturing technique that his laboratory technician, Vivien Thomas (1910–1985), had just performed in a dog, his level of astonishment was so high that he expressed, “Vivien, this looks like Something the Lord Made.” In all his years of practice, Dr. Blalock had never seen anything like it before. The level of perfection was so superior to other works that it could not be considered to be of human descent. The surgical technician far exceeded anyone else in the surgical department. In due time, he taught surgical residents and faculty the exquisite details of the laborious vascular suturing techniques.

Thomas and Blalock learned to respect and appreciate each other's work. Thomas, the advanced student, and Blalock, the noted teacher, learned to understand one another and recognize their unique abilities. With the support and theoretical advice of his mentor, Thomas proceeded in the old Hunterian Laboratory to solve the problem of the Blue Baby heart disease, also known as Tetralogy of Fallot. The fruits of Thomas's work were put to a test on November 29, 1944, when surgeon-in-chief Blalock took baby Eileen to room 706 to perform the first pulmonary artery to subclavian artery shunt in humans. The results were especially good, and baby Eileen recovered satisfactorily. It was obvious that history had been made, and Thomas and Blalock were the creators, the heroes of this extraordinary feat. They had participated together in Something the Lord Made.