Heart-Lung Machine Today

Description -- The bypass machine of today has many high-tech features. Yet it still performs the same functions as Mayo's original machines from the 1950s. And despite all the innovations, it still takes a lot of machinery to replicate what your body can perform with an organ about the size of your fist -- that amazing pump, the human heart.

Dating from about 1957, the machine on display is Mayo's second bypass machine. It was exhibited in the Mayo Medical Museum (located on the site of today's Gonda Building) for many years.

This artifact appears with the following stories:

Surgery in 1955 - The Linda Stout Story
Linda Stout was just 5 years old when she became the second person in the world to have open-heart surgery with a heart-lung bypass machine.

Surgery Now - The Bridget Thompson Story
Bridget Thompson had heart surgery before she had symptoms -- an operation that might have been avoided years ago.

Heart to Heart - Investing in Innovation
For many years, generous benefactors have made possible research that saves the lives of patients with cardiovascular disease.

Milestones in Cardiac Surgery
Mayo Clinic heart surgeons have set the standard for innovation in cardiovascular surgery for decades.

Browse Artifacts:

About Linda's Surgery

Click to view more information about early surgery photos.

Early Surgery Photographs

First Pump Oxygenator

First Report of Heart-Lung Bypass

Search

Main Navigation