About Linda's Surgery

Description -- Here we see a condition that was a major challenge at the dawn of cardiac surgery. Today, it is a routine procedure.

The condition is called ventricular septal defect. It means there is a hole between the two pumping chambers of the heart. This condition is present at birth. Untreated, it can lead to serious consequences that include a shortened life span.

Mayo's first open-heart surgery was to correct this specific problem. The patient was a 5-year-old child. Today, the problem can be diagnosed and treated early usually within a child's first year of life.

In March 1955, Mayo Clinic was the only medical center in the world that could treat this problem with a heart-lung bypass machine. What was revolutionary then is now standard treatment -- available throughout the United States and internationally.

Similar to this experience, Mayo's goal is to keep pushing the frontier of cardiovascular surgery forward so that today's breakthrough is tomorrow's mainstay of care.