Abstract
Anaesthesia was developed in the middle of the 19th century with the discovery of the anaesthetic effects of nitrous oxide, ether and chloroform. Ether and chloroform were used for many years to induce unconsciousness and relieve pain during surgery. Anaesthesia improved slowly, and did not achieve its own identity as a specific branch of medicine for many years; thus, it was administered by either surgeons or nurses. Only later did it become a medical specialty. As heart surgery expanded, it became clear that cardiac anaesthesia required a specific skill set: the cardiac anaesthetist had to manage induction and maintenance of anaesthesia, problems associated with thoracic wounds and the opening of the chest, massive bleeding from cardiac chambers and major blood vessels, and haemodynamic instability.
If I would be a young man again and had to decide how to make my living, I would not try to become a scientist or scholar or teacher. I would rather choose to be a plumber or a peddler in the hope to find that modest degree of independence still available under present circumstances.
A. Einstein
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Keown KK (1982) A brief history of anaesthesia and surgery of the heart and great vessels. Can Anaesth Soc J 29(4):325–329
Cleland WP (1983) Historical review. The evolution of cardiac surgery in the United Kingdom. Thorax 38:887–896
Kobak MW (1968) The history of cardiac valve surgery before the advent of repair under vision. Angiology 19(2):80–94
Hessel EA II (2001) History of cardiac surgery and anesthesia. In: Estafanous FG, Barash PG, Reves JG (eds) Cardiac anesthesia: principles and practice, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Cleveland, pp 17–28
Stoney WS (2009) Evolution of cardiopulmonary bypass. Circulation 119:2844–2853
Rink EH (1950) Anaesthesia for cardiac surgery. Ann R Coll Surg Engl 7(2):151–158
Lyons SM (1998) The advance(s) of cardiac surgery and anaesthesia. Ulster Med J 67 [Suppl 1]:15–17
Brodsky JB, Lemmens HJ (2007) The history of anesthesia for thoracic surgery. Minerva Anestesiol 73(10):513–524
Elsberg CA (1911) III. Experiences in thoracic surgery under anaesthesia by the intratracheal insufflation of air and ether: with remarks on the value of the method for general anaesthesia. Ann Surg 54(6):749–757
Denson JS, Joseph S, Miller H (1953) Anesthesia in cardiac operations. Calif Med 78(5):450–452
Bigelow WG, Mustard E (1954) Some physiologic concepts of hypothermia and their application to cardiac surgery. J Thorac Surg 28:463
Swan H, Zeawn I, Blount SG Jr, Virtue RW (1953) Surgery by direct vision in the open heart during hypothermia. J Am Med Assoc 153:1081
Lewis FJ, Taufic M (1953) Closure of atrial septal defects with aid of hypothermia: experimental accomplishments and the report of one successful case. Surgery 33:52–59
Cohn LH (2003) Fifty years of open-heart surgery. Circulation 107:2168–2170
Chatterjee K (2009) The Swan-Ganz catheters: past, present, and future. A viewpoint. Circulation 119(1):147–152
Pugsley J, Lerner AB (2010) Cardiac output monitoring: is there a gold standard and how do the newer technologies compare? Semin Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth 14(4):274–282
Hutteman E (2006) Transoesophageal echocardiography in critical care. Minerva Anestesiol 72:891–913
Guarracino F, Baldassarri R (2009) Transesophageal echocardiography in the OR and ICU. Minerva Anestesiol 75(9):518–529
Guarracino F, Covello RD, Landoni G, Baldassarri R, Stefani M, Cariello C, Ruggeri L, Franco A, Gerli C, Pappalardo F, Zangrillo A (2010) Anesthetic management of transcatheter aortic valve implantation with transaxillary approach. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth 25(3):437–443
Sellevold OF, Guarracino F (2010) Transcutaneous aortic valve implantation: recent advances and future. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol 23(1):67–73
Yuksel UC, Kapadia SR, Tuzcu EM (2011) Percutaneous mitral repair: patient selection, results, and future directions. Curr Cardiol Rep 13(2):100–106
Goldberg SL, Feldman T (2010) Percutaneous mitral valve interventions: overview of new approaches. Curr Cardiol Rep 12(5):404–412
Ranucci M (2006) Which cardiac surgical patients can benefit from placement of a pulmonary artery catheter? Crit Care 10 [Suppl 3]:S6
Guarracino F, Stefani M, Lapolla F, Cariello C, Doroni L, Danella A, Baldassarri R (2007) Monitoring cardiac output with Flo Trac Vigileo. Br J Anaesth 99(1):142. Author reply 142–143
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Italia
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Guarracino, F., Baldassarri, R. (2013). Cardiac Anaesthesia. In: Picichè, M. (eds) Dawn and Evolution of Cardiac Procedures. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2400-7_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2400-7_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Milano
Print ISBN: 978-88-470-2399-4
Online ISBN: 978-88-470-2400-7
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)