King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery [Paperback]

G. Wayne Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000

Few of the great stories of medicine are as palpably dramatic as the invention of open-heart surgery, yet, until now, no journalist has ever brought all of the thrilling specifics of this triumph to life.

This is the story of the surgeon many call the father of open-heart surgery, Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, who, along with colleagues at University Hospital in Minneapolis and a small band of pioneers elsewhere, accomplished what many experts considered to be an impossible feat: He opened the heart, repaired fatal defects, and made the miraculous routine.

Acclaimed author G. Wayne Miller draws on archival research and exclusive interviews with Lillehei and legendary pioneers such as Michael DeBakey and Christiaan Barnard, taking readers into the lives of these doctors and their patients as they progress toward their landmark achievement. In the tradition of works by Richard Rhodes and Tracy Kidder, King of Hearts tells the story of an important and gripping piece of forgotten science history.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The surgeon-as-rock-star mystique seems like it must have come straight out of Hollywood, but the myth had to begin more concretely. A good candidate is Minnesota's Dr. Walt Lillehei, the hard-working, hard-playing father of open-heart surgery, whose life is told in garish color in King of Hearts by journalist G. Wayne Miller. From his early brilliance, recovery from deadly lymphatic cancer, and dramatic repair of seemingly hopeless heart cases to the disintegration of his career at its peak thanks to an army of personal enemies and conviction on tax evasion counts, his story is consistently surprising and engaging. Fast cars, hard drinking, and plenty of women filled his time when he wasn't turning lives around with a few strokes of his scalpel, and the reader will find the surgeon's actions almost unbelievable--rarely endearing, but occasionally saintly. Combining this melodramatic biography with the fascinating story of the struggle for open-heart surgery, considered impossible little more than a generation ago, Miller makes a compelling case that the daring scientist was simply another side of the arrogant, absent-minded playboy. No ordinary biography, King of Hearts is breathless reading--you'll find yourself surfacing every few chapters to remind yourself its nonfiction. --Rob Lightner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Open-heart surgery is now almost routine in the United States, but just a few decades ago the idea of repairing cardiac defects by cutting into a living human heart was almost unthinkable. Yet thanks to the efforts of a talented few who refused to believe it couldn't be done, open-heart surgery became a reality in the 1950s. Chief among its pioneers was the intense and flamboyant Minnesota surgeon Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, whose story Miller tells here in thriller style. Miller, a staff writer for the Providence Journal, re-creates the anxieties and excitement of an era poised on the brink of astonishing technological advances but stymied by a disease that killed more than 625,000 Americans annually. Lillehei was convinced that open-heart surgery was the answer--but how to divert blood from the heart and still keep the patient alive? Lillehei's first attempts, in 1954, used a complex and risky donor-patient blood exchange. Several of his first patients died; behind his back, nurses began calling him "murderer." By 1955, however, Lillehei and his colleague Richard DeWall perfected a simplified heart-lung machine made with beer hose and plastic tubing ("a high school science fair project was more complex," Miller observes) that finally allowed Lillehei to achieve his dream of "bringing advanced open-heart surgery to the masses." Lillehei's innovations revolutionized cardiac surgery; many believed he would win a Nobel prize. Instead, the surgeon was disgraced when he was found guilty of tax fraud in 1973. Miller's fast-paced and scrupulously researched account reveals both the exhilaration and the tragedy of Lillehei's story. Agent, Kay McCaulay, Pimlico Agency. (Feb.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 302 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 2nd edition (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609807242
• ISBN-13: 978-0609807248
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Visit www.gwaynemiller.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Moving Book, December 8, 2002

By 

rose r haverluk (Portland, Or USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery (Paperback)

As I read this book, I was profoundly moved. I was was born with a ASD & pulmonary valve defect. Dr Richard Varco and Lellehei did my surgery At the Variety Club Heart hospital in 1955 . I was one of the 1st one hundred surgeries done at the U of Minn.What incredable dedication , hard work, these men had. In my early twenties, I again needed heart surgery. This time again a very brillent, dedicated surgeon by the name of U Scott Page did a total correction.I have been able to live a wonderful. active life thanks the The King of Heart and team and Dr Page. I owe my life to the many, many dogs used to perfect progress of open heart surgery. I am a nurse, I have cared for many open heart patients. Thank you Dr Varco, Dr Lillehei and Dr S Page

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read! An incredible non-fiction page turner!, March 14, 2000

By 

Andrew Kinnecom (Englewood, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery (Hardcover)

Dr. Walter Lillehei's last name is atually easy to pronounce. When reading G. Wayne Miller's newest non-fiction thriller, "The King of Hearts," just read his name as 'Lilla - High.' Almost like the name of a high school . . . Lilla High.

But Miller's quest for the truth about 'Lilla High" turns into a reader's quest for the true story about the almost unbelievable account of how heart surgery began on this planet. Most of us remember or have heard about the Dr. Christiaan Barnards's headlining heart transplant in 1967. Maybe the recipient's name - Louis Washkansky- would be a good trivia question on 'Who Want's to be a Millionaire?' or 'Jeopardy.' But it might be better to learn about or remember the name of this maveric medical pioneer by the name of Dr. Walt Lillehei (prounounced like the high school!) who began the heart surgery revolution.

This book is a suspensiful portrait of a fascinating man and his incredible determination, at any cost, to forge ahead where no doctor had before. We take for granted that our relative, friend, neighbor, even ourselves! can now go through a simple open heart surgery procedure and recover gracefully to enjoy a long life. But do you remember history just 30 or 40 years ago when heart disease at any age meant almost instant death? Do you know how many children just died from what we know demand from doctors to routinely fix?

G.Wayne Miller answered so many questions for us through an amazing eight year project which is now titled "King of Hearts." Miller's project has become this 245 pages of reading that one WANTS to read all at once. Filled with suspense, drama, intrigue and the always-present element of actual human life and events that makes for a non-fiction, the reader is torn between what makes this book such a page-turner. Is it because it reads like a literary 'E.R.' or 'Chicago Hope,' or is it the because it is a fascinating medical story of real life with all the suspensful parts? Motivated, almost possessed doctors. Desperate people and parents of dying children. A doctor on an emotional roller coaster who pushed life to its fullest - both personally and professionally.

This is the story of one of life's greatest accomplishments by a pioneer doctor, who like most pioneeers of anything - took great risks, pushed the limit, and believed in breaking the rules. He was the doctor who began what we all now call heart surgery. He was the doctor whose student, Christiaan Barnard, made worldwide headlines by performing a heart transplant - something we now take almost for granted, but what is it really?

Doctor Walt "Lilly High" deserves more than 245 pages of drama and suspense. He dared where no others would - both professionally and personally. But the chances he took, the new opportunity he pioneered for all of us, and the personal life he led gave author Miller more than he needed.

Miller's ability to chronical his eight year study of Walt Lillehei's life into this page-burner that you'll want to reread to catch all those facts again is why I recommend "King of Hearts" to all readers. Whether a thriller reader, non-fiction master, medical fan, or Miller follower, you'll find a great read about trail-blazers who made a real difference in this life.

Enjoy it!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating!, March 16, 2000

By 

Mona Barmash (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery (Hardcover)

I received a review copy of King of Hearts a few days after my son's last operation for Congenital Heart Defects, and I have to admit, the LAST thing I wanted to read about was open heart surgery! Much to my surprise, I was quickly engaged in this masterfully told story about Dr. Walt Lillehei. I was also struck by the bravery of parents who, by allowing new procedures to be tried on their children, laid the groundwork for the medical advances that keep our loved ones affected by Congenital Heart Defects alive today.

Highly recommended reading for parents, adult patients, medical professionals, and others interested in medical history!