Open Heart Surgery in the 1960’s

David Shribman of The New York Times caught up with a childhood friend, Deena Newberg, who had open heart surgery over 40 years ago. Deena’s story is a stark reminder of how much cardiovascular medicine has advanced.

She was fully awake during some of the terrifying preparatory procedures, the same ones I had (though I was safely under sedation the whole time). For seemingly interminable periods she was in an oxygen tent. She remembers how her father unzipped that tent carefully, so he could hold her hand. Her mother had to prepare every meal especially for her (no lines of salt-free food in those days at the Beach Bluff Supermarket down the street). Nurses wrapped her legs in hot towels. And the most remarkable thing of all: the doctors were at her house a lot.

Deena is alive today and has two grown children.

Photo: Dondersteen

Tags: deena newberg, david shribman, heart, heart disease, open heart surgery, diseases, illness, health