the 42 bulletin
Marian Ionescu and team, 1972
The Cardiothoracic Unit was opened in 1961 with David Watson (b 1923) as Consultant Surgeon and Director of Cardiac Research. On 21 May 1962 David performed the first open heart procedure at the Unit on a 12 year old girl. Initially, the Drew technique was used. This combined a heat exchanger to produce profound hypothermia with two extracorporeal circuits perfusing the lungs and systemic circulations. At 15°C the aorta and cavae were occluded providing a still bloodless field for one hour to complete the intracardiac repair. Later a Melrose oxygenator was incorporated into the heartlung circuit. In 1967 David Watson founded Heart Research UK. New research laboratories were opened in 1973. It was here that the Killingbeck valve, a modified porcine xenograft was developed. This is currently manufactured as the Aspire valve by Vascutek at Swillington in south east Leeds.
Killingbeck Hospital
Heart Research UK has funded over £17m of research projects including six of the first heart transplants at Papworth. David Watson was awarded an MBE in 2017. In 1966 Dr. Olive Scott was appointed as the first designated Paediatric Cardiologist in the UK. Four years later Philip Deverall was appointed as a Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon and an intense programme of paediatric cardiac surgery began. Philip Deverall moved to Guy’s Hospital in 1978 and was replaced by Duncan Walker who became “Yorkshire Man of the Decade” in 1990. Killingbeck was a high profile institution. Prince Charles visited in 1975. Lord Louis Mountbatten opened the non-invasive Paediatric Unit in 1977. Prince Phillip visited in 1984 and the Duchess of York opened the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in 1990.
Bradford Royal Infirmary To the west of Leeds there was a thriving programme in Bradford. In 1967 Mr James Davidson performed the first closure of ASDs in twins who are alive today. Thoracic surgery was lead by Alan Mearns (1940-2008), supported by Sabaratnam Sabanathan (19491997) and Vladimir Anikin.
The Next Generation in Leeds
David Watson
The early pioneers of Thoracic and Cardiac surgery established Leeds on the world stage and laid a solid platform for the next generation who established a programme of high volume cardiac surgery.
In 1985 Nigel Saunders (d1998) joined the staff of Killingbeck Hospital as a Cardiothoracic Surgeon. Both David Watson and Marian Ionescu retired in 1987. Philip Kay was appointed to the LGI in 1987 and was joined by Andrew Murday the following year. Unni Nair also commenced at Killingbeck in 1988. Together Andrew and Unni developed a programme of cardiac transplantation. However, this was to be short lived. In 1991 Andrew left to follow his transplant dream and was replaced by Chris Munsch and Joe McGoldrick. Meanwhile Kevin Watterson had joined the Paediatric programme in 1989.
The Yorkshire Heart Centre In 1997 the cardiac units amalgamated in a new centre at Leeds Infirmary. The Unit was strengthened by the appointment of three locum Consultants; Pankaj Kaul, V Chandrasekeran and Anvay Mulay enabling the Unit to perform 1600 cardiac operations per annum. The latter two surgeons left. Pankaj Kaul obtained a substantive post along with David O’Regan. On the Paediatric side Duncan Walker left. Kevin Watterson was joined by Ms Carin van Doorn. She left to pursue her career at Great Ormond Street and Aarhus before returning to Leeds. The Thoracic Units at Bradford and Killingbeck were closed and thoracic surgery concentrated at St James University Hospital under the leadership of Andrew Thorpe. The pioneering days were a celebration of glorious invention and innovation. n