Cardiac surgery has now been performed continuously in the RVH for 50 years. The first cases were “closed” operations (performed without cardiopulmonary bypass or what is know as the heart-lung machine) done on 15th May 1968. Two of these were to ligate a patent ductus arteriosis (PDA) in newborn babies and one operation was to stretch the mitral valve (mitral valvotomy) in an adult patient. The surgeon was Mr Pat Molloy, the anaesthetist Dr Richard Clarke and Sister Liz Lattimer was the scrub nurse. Both of theses types of operation had sporadically been performed in RBHSC and the Royal prior to this. On 19th and 26th June 1968 the modern era of cardiac sugery commenced with two patients undergoing repair of atrial septal defects (ASD) and on 27th June an Aortic Valve Replacement (AVR) was performed. Cardiac surgery has been a continual presence in the RVH, Belfast since then and, approximately, 40,000 people have had major cardiac surgery in the same operating theatres.
The staff in the unit are understandably very proud of this and to celebrate, an afternoon scientific meeting and celebration dinner in Belfast City Hall was held in June.