We Need Your Help!
Do You Know This Scientist?
If you do, we welcome your input. Please share your funny stories, brief anecdotes, quotes, and photos of the scientist - as well as your own inspirational opinions. Personal accounts help bring a scientist alive and create an enduring historical picture. You can be a part of this exciting history by providing your personal account!
Please click here to learn more about how to contribute:
Participate as a Friend Scholar
Can You Write or Research?
Help us learn more about this great scientist. You can be a credited Support Scholar by contributing your knowledge about this scientist and important discovery. Entries can be as short as a single section and as easy as compiling quotes. Click here to learn more about becoming a Support Scholar:
Participate as a Support Scholar
Would you like to adopt a scientist?
Endeavor to research all the sections of a scientist. Click here to learn how to be an Expert Scholar.
Participate as an Expert Scholar
Have Historically Significant Photographs?
Participate with Photos
Click here for all the ways you can participate:
Participate to ScienceHeroes.com
Testimonials
Has this scientist’s science impacted your life?
Click here to tell your story or to read others’ life changing anecdotes:
Post Your Own Testimonial
Vasilii Kolesov (September 24, 1904 - August 2, 1992) Born in Russia Year of Discovery: 1964 ![]() ![]() Physician's New Technique Sewed Up Bypass Surgery Vasilii Kolesov changed the outlook for those with heart disease, but only after harrowing decades of strife. He was born in Russia in 1902 and grew up during one of the country's most challenging eras-the Bolshevik Revolution and the birth of communism under the Soviet Union. He then had to survive as a member of the educated class during Stalin's Great Purge of the 1930s, when millions of Russians were arrested and put into Gulags. Kolesov did survive and became a surgeon, receiving the rank of Major in the Army. Then World War II began and the Nazis invaded. Performing surgery during the Siege of Leningrad, often under heavy attack, shells raining down, bombs even hitting the hospital during surgery, his personal life and career were in jeopardy. The three million citizens of the city faced extreme cold and starvation. 200,000 died, including several members of his own family. The main focus was on survival, not scientific discovery. Finally the war was won and eight years later Stalin died. It was then, in 1953, that Kolesov could finally turn his creative mind to scientific discovery. Kolesov learned about the coronary artery experiments Vladimir Demikhov was performing on dogs. Over the next eight years, he made careful modifications and intricate refinements to surgical procedures on coronary arteries. Finally, he believed the procedure could be used on humans. On February 25, 1964, Kolesov performed the very first successful coronary artery bypass. This would change the progression of heart disease for many people. Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a critical procedure for people who have dangerous hardening and narrowing of their coronary arteries. The coronary arteries are the vessels that bring the oxygen-rich blood to the heart. If left untreated, coronary artery disease can lead to a heart attack. The surgery creates new routes around the narrowed and blocked arteries, allowing better blood flow to the heart, delivering much needed oxygen and nutrients. For the next three years, this life saving procedure was only performed behind Russia's Iron Curtain, at The First Leningrad Medical Institute. It was reported in a Russian Medical Journal in 1965, but was not translated into English until 1967. That same year, on May 9, 1967 the first successful operation in America was performed at the Cleveland Clinic by René Favaloro. At the time, there were some conflicting reports about who was responsible for this groundbreaking medical discovery, but it was determined the American team of surgeons were aware of the previous Russian work, because Donald Effler, of the Cleveland Clinic, had written a comment on Kolesov's original article. Over 2.4 million lives around the world have been saved by this method since. Kolesov continued to work and write about the treatment of coronary artery disease well into his 80s. In fact, his final paper was published when he was in his late 80s, just a year before his death on August 2, 1992. Table of Contents IntroductionLinks to More Information About the Scientist Key Insight Key Experiment or Research Key Contributors Quotes by the Scientist Quotes About the Scientist Anecdotes Similar Scientists Fun Trivia About The Science The Science Behind the Discovery Personal Information Science Discovery Timeline Recommended Books About the Science Books by the Scientist Books About the Scientist Awards Major Academic Papers Curriculum Vitae Links to Science and Related Information on the Subject Sources
Links to More About the Scientist & the Science Texas Heart Institute Journal article remembering Kolesov and his work: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=548233 The Annals of Thoracic Surgery article remembering Kolesov and his work: http://ats.ctsnetjournals.org/cgi/content/full/67/1/273 Journal of the American Heart Association article on Kolesov (pg 5, pdf): http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/116/23/F133.pdf Sliders & Images here Image Flow Here
Key Contributors
The Science Behind the Discovery
Curriculum VitaeLinks to Information on the Science Sources/References
|