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Helen B. Taussig

January 13, 2023

Helen Brooke Taussig (May 24, 1898 – May 20, 1986) was an American cardiologist, working in Baltimore and Boston, who founded the field of pediatric cardiology. She is credited with developing the concept for a procedure that would extend the lives of children born with Tetralogy of Fallot (the most common cause of blue baby syndrome). This concept was applied in practice as a procedure known as the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt. The procedure was developed by Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas, who were Taussig's colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Helen Brooke Taussig
Born(1898-05-24)May 24, 1898
Cambridge, Massachusetts, US
Died20 May 1986(1986-05-20) (aged 87)
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, US
Alma materJohns Hopkins School of Medicine
Known forFounding figure of paediatric cardiology

Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt

Role in banning of thalidomide
AwardsE. Mead Johnson Award (1947)
Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (1954)
Presidential Medal of Freedom(1964)
Elizabeth Blackwell Award (1970)
John Howland Award (1971)
Scientific career
FieldsCardiology

Taussig was partially deaf following an ear infection in childhood; in early adulthood this progressed to full deafness.[1] To compensate for her loss of hearing, she learned to use lip-reading techniques and hearing aids to speak with her patients. Taussing also developed a method of using her fingers, rather than a stethoscope, to feel the rhythm of their heartbeats.[2][3] Some of her innovations have been attributed to her ability to diagnose heart problems by touch rather than by sound.[2]

Taussig is also known for her work in banning thalidomide and was widely recognized as a highly skilled physician. She was the first woman to be elected head of the American Heart Association. She was more proud of the fact that she was the first pediatrician to be elected head of the AMA; and in 1964 she was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom.[4]

Early life and education

Helen Brooke Taussig was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 24, 1898, to F. W. Taussig and Edith Thomas Guild, the youngest of four children. Her father was an economist at Harvard University, and her mother was one of the first students at Radcliffe College, a women's college.

She spent summers as a child in Cotuit, Massachusetts,[5] and later in life had a home there.[6]

When Taussig was 11 years old, her mother died of tuberculosis.[7] Helen also contracted the disease and was ill for several years, severely affecting her ability to do schoolwork. She also struggled with severe dyslexia through her early school years and was partially deaf.[8] Despite this, she did well at school due to diligent work and extensive tutoring from her father.[9]

She graduated from Cambridge School for Girls in 1917,[2][10] then studied for two years at Radcliffe College before earning a bachelor's degree and Phi Beta Kappa membership[11] from the University of California, Berkeley in 1921.[2]

After graduating, Taussig wished to study at Harvard Medical School, but the medical programme did not accept women (this was the case until 1945, though the first woman had applied nearly 100 years earlier, in 1847).[12][1] The program actually did accept women in theory but would not give them a degree. When Taussig was told this by the dean of the medical school, she asked why anyone would want to attend without any hope of getting a degree, to which the dean replied, "That is what we are hoping." Taussig responded, "Well, I shall not be the first to disappoint you," and left.[13] Instead she considered applying to study public health, partially because her father thought it a more suitable field for women,[14] but learned that as a woman she could attend the programme but would not be recognised with a degree. She later reported asking the dean "Who wants to study for four years and get no degree for all that work?", and his replying "Nobody, I hope."[14]

Taussig ended up taking classes at Boston University in histology, bacteriology, and anatomy, without expecting to receive a degree.[8] She had to sit apart from her male colleagues at the back of lecture theatres and was not supposed to speak to them.[1] As an anatomy student at Boston University in 1925, she published her first scientific paper on studies of ox heart muscles with Alexander Begg.[15] With the encouragement of her professor Alexander Begg, Taussig applied to transfer to the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, one of the few medical schools to admit women at the time, and was accepted as a full-degree candidate.[8][16][17] After completing her MD degree in 1927 at Johns Hopkins, Taussig remained for one year as a cardiology fellow and for two years as a pediatrics intern,[2] and received two Archibald Fellowships, spanning 1927–1930.[8] Taussig wanted to specialise in Internal Medicine, but there was only one position available for a woman in that field, and it was already taken; she therefore decided to specialise in pediatrics, and ended up working in pediatric cardiology, a field that was still in its infancy.[1]

Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt

Concept

Taussig's early career in pediatric cardiology at Johns Hopkins consisted of studying babies with congenital heart defects and rheumatic fever,[16] an inflammation of the heart and other organs resulting from bacterial infection, which was at the time a major source of child mortality. In the early 20th century, rheumatic heart disease made up the majority of clinical cardiology work: congenital heart defects were considered hopeless curiosities as the surgical means to correct them were extremely undeveloped so relatively little could be done to prevent the early deaths of patients with these conditions.[18]

She then was hired by the pediatric department of Johns Hopkins, the Harriet Lane Home, as its chief, where she served from 1930 until 1963. Taussig made use of fluoroscopy as a diagnostic tool, and developed a particular interest in infants with cyanosis (blue-tinged appearance), often caused by the heart defect Tetralogy of Fallot.[19] Cyanosis is caused when insufficient oxygenated blood is circulating around the body; in infants it can be known as "blue baby syndrome". Taussig is most remembered for her role in the development of a surgical treatment for this condition, the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt.

A new surgery first performed in 1939 by Robert Gross corrected a common pediatric heart problem: patent ductus arteriosus. The ductus arteriosus is a small blood vessel connecting the pulmonary artery to the aorta of a foetus. Since the foetus obtains oxygen via the mother's placenta and not via its own lungs, which are fluid-filled and not yet functional, this vessel provides a shortcut, bypassing the lungs and allowing more efficient delivery of oxygenated blood around the foetus' body.[20] In most infants, the ductus arteriosus closes within a few weeks of birth so that blood flows to the lungs to be oxygenated; if it remains open or 'patent', the normal flow of blood is disrupted.[21] This new surgical procedure artificially closed the blood vessel.

While this was going on, Taussig observed that infants with cyanotic heart defects such as Tetralogy of Fallot or pulmonary atresia often fared remarkably better if they also had a patent ductus arteriosus, with less severe symptoms and longer survival.[1] In general, cyanotic symptoms would often begin or worsen shortly after birth, a change which Taussig suspected was caused by the natural closure of the ductus arteriosus.[19] In cyanotic children, bloodflow from the heart to the lungs via the pulmonary artery is often compromised; Taussig thought that surgically creating an artificial ductus linking these two vessels could increase bloodflow to the lungs and alleviate this problem, increasing survival.[14] She broached the idea to Robert Gross, and he was skeptical, reportedly telling her ""I have enough trouble closing the ductus arteriosus. I certainly don't want to try to make an artificial one."[4][1][22]

The first surgeries

Two years later, Taussig obtained the collaboration of Johns Hopkins' new chief of surgery Alfred Blalock and his laboratory assistant Vivien Thomas. The three of them developed a surgery now known as the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt. Originally, it was referred to as the Blalock-Taussig shunt: the critical input of Vivien Thomas was overlooked because of his non-academic role and because of his race.[1]

Following extensive experimentation on about 200 dogs,[23] on November 9, 1944, Blalock and Thomas performed the surgery on the first human patient.[1][24] Eileen Saxon, a 15-month-old baby, had arrived at the emergency department earlier that month severely underweight at just 5 kg, purplish blue in colour and hardly able to drink a sip without gasping for breath. Taussig diagnosed her with Tetralogy of Fallot, a diagnosis which meant that without intervention she certainly would not survive to adulthood.[1] The procedure was an immediate success: Eileen's colour quickly returned to normal, she could drink milk more easily and gained a few kilograms. Two months after the surgery she was discharged from hospital.[1] However, she became cyanotic again a few months later and died shortly before her second birthday.[25] Despite Eileen's death, the operation was proof that the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt could in principle be used to extend the lives of children with cyanotic heart disease.

By 1945, this operation had been performed on a total of three infants with pulmonary stenosis and pulmonary atresia. As Alfred Blalock and Helen Taussig wrote in Journal of the American Medical Association, "Heretofore there has been no satisfactory treatment for pulmonary stenosis and pulmonary atresia. A "blue" baby with a malformed heart was considered beyond the reach of surgical aid. During the past three months we have operated on 3 children with severe degrees of pulmonary stenosis and each of the patients appears to be greatly benefited. In the second and third cases, in which there was deep persistent cyanosis, the cyanosis has greatly diminished or has disappeared and the general condition of the patients is proportionally improved."[26] Following this report, and lectures given by Blalock and Taussig at conferences around Europe and America, the procedure quickly gained worldwide acceptance.[1][19]

Legacy

With the international fame this surgery drew, parents worldwide began coming to Baltimore to have their "blue babies" treated by Blalock and Taussig. The rapid influx of prospective patients was so great that the clinic struggled to cope, and medical visitors from around the world came to assist and to share knowledge.[22] By 1951, the team had operated on over 1,000 children and the surgery had a mortality rate of only 5%.[1]

One of the major benefits of this surgery was that children gained the ability to play actively without the rapid exhaustion and frequent loss of consciousness that usually results from cyanotic heart defects. Helen Taussig reportedly kept a letter on her mantelpiece from twelve year old Jean-Pierre Cablan, written after undergoing the procedure: "Je suis maintenant un tout autre petit garcon ... je vais pouvoir aller jouer avec mes petits camarades."[19] ("I am now a completely new boy... I will be able to play with the other children.") Often, an immediate improvement in the level of cyanosis could be seen as well. Taussig later recalled, "I suppose nothing would ever give me as much delight as seeing the first patient change from blue to pink in the operating room... bright pink cheeks and bright lips."[4]

Nowadays, the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt is useful for prolonging life and improving health in infants before heart defects can be definitively repaired, commonly as the first stage of the three-step Norwood Procedure.[27] It allows infants to survive and gain weight before more complex surgeries are later attempted, and is used in the care of patients with Tetralogy of Fallot, pulmonary atresia, and more rare and complex abnormalities.[28]

At the time of Taussig's death, tens of thousands of children's lives had been saved by the shunt procedure.[23]

Further career

As a physician, Taussig pioneered the use of x-rays and fluoroscopy simultaneously to examine changes in a baby's heart and lungs in a less invasive manner,[29] and was very skilled in diagnosing heart conditions by feeling the heartbeat with her fingertips, rather than listening with a stethoscope.[1]

As well as her day to day clinical work as a paediatrician, Taussig was also an accomplished academic clinician. She published 100 academic articles over her career, considering various aspects of cardiology including biomedical ethics[30] and the evolutionary origins of heart disease.[31] In her research into the long-term outcomes of recipients of the shunt, Taussig remained in touch with many of her patients as they grew to adulthood and middle age.[22]

In 1947, after a decade of gathering material,[17] Taussig published her magnum opus, Congenital Malformations of the Heart,[32] considered to be the foundational text of pediatric cardiology as an independent field.[8] The book was expanded into two volumes for a second edition published in 1960.[33]

Taussig later became an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; she was promoted to full professor in 1959. At the time, she was only the second woman to reach full professor status at the university.[18] She continued to serve as the director of the Harriet Lane Home (the children's treatment and research centre at Johns Hopkins) until her retirement in 1963. Most paediatric clinics at the time focussed on rheumatic fever, which was the major source of child mortality, but because of Taussig's experience, the Harriet Lane Home was also able to provide specialist care for children with congenital heart disease.[34] It became a world-leading centre that aspiring surgeons flocked to.[1]

Together with the cardiologist Richard Bing, Taussig was in 1949 the first to describe a heart condition now known as Taussig-Bing syndrome.[9][35] This is the second most common type of double-outlet right ventricle (DORV),[36] a set of rare congenital heart conditions in which the aorta, which is supposed to carry oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle of the heart, instead is connected to the right ventricle and supplies oxygen-poor blood to the body.[37] Several alternative methods for surgically correcting this defect have been tried over the decades since the problem was first described, and survival rates following surgical intervention are greatly improved in recent decades.[9]

Banning of thalidomide

Around 1960, many more babies than usual began to be born in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands with phocomelia, a previously very rare condition in which limbs are absent or small and abnormally formed. The German paediatrician Widukind Lenz was the first to draw a link to the increasing frequency of this condition and thalidomide, a drug which was a popular sleeping medication at the time with the trade name Softenon, and was often taken by pregnant women to counter morning sickness. However, when it is taken between days 35 and 49 of a pregnancy, it blocks normal limb development and causes phocomelia.[1]

After hearing about this issue from one of her students in January 1962, Taussig travelled to Germany and examined some of these children for herself. She reached the same conclusion as Lenz: that thalidomide taken during pregnancy was causing phocomelia.[1] She flew back to America and launched a campaign to try to stop the pending approval of thalidomide by the FDA, speaking at the American College of Physicians, writing in journals and magazines, and testifying before Congress in 1967.[8] Her and others' efforts paid off: the drug was banned in the United States and Europe.

Retirement and death

Taussig formally retired from Johns Hopkins in 1963, but continued to teach, give lectures, and lobby for various causes. In addition, she kept writing scientific papers (of the 129 total that Taussig wrote, 41 were after her retirement from Johns Hopkins).[4] She advocated for the use of animals in medical research and for legalized abortion, as well as the benefits of palliative care and hospice.[8][38]

In 1977, Taussig moved to a retirement community in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Ever active, she continued making periodic trips to the University of Delaware for research work.[39] At the time of her death, she was researching the genetic basis for congenital heart defects in birds.[8][24]

On May 20, 1986, four days short of her 88th birthday, Taussig was driving a group of friends to vote in a local election when her car collided with another vehicle at an intersection. She died about an hour later at Chester County Hospital, and donated her body to Johns Hopkins.[23]

Honors

Throughout her career, Taussig earned more than 20 honorary degrees.[38] Taussig was a member of several professional societies during her career. She was a member of the American Pediatric Society, the Society for Pediatric Research, and the American College of Physicians.[29]

Film portrayals

In the 2004 HBO movie Something the Lord Made about the life of Vivien Thomas, Dr. Taussig was portrayed by Mary Stuart Masterson. The movie was nominated for many awards and won several.[48]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Van Robays, J (2016). "Helen B. Taussig (1898-1986)". Facts, Views & Vision in ObGyn. 8 (3): 183–187. ISSN 2032-0418. PMC 5172576. PMID 28003874.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Changing the Face of Medicine: Dr. Helen Brooke Taussig". National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Helen Brooke Taussig | American physician". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  4. ^ a b c d Swaby, Rachel. (2015). Headstrong : 52 Women Who Changed Science - and the World. Broadway Books (A Division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc). pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-553-44679-1. OCLC 903952884.
  5. ^ a b c d Taussig, Helen Brooke (1898–1986) - Dictionary definition of Taussig, Helen Brooke (1898–1986) | Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  6. ^ ENTINE vs. REILLY, MISC 13-477228 Retrieved 2017-05-03.
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  9. ^ a b c Konstantinov, Igor E. (2009). "Taussig-Bing Anomaly". Texas Heart Institute Journal. 36 (6): 580–585. ISSN 0730-2347. PMC 2801930. PMID 20069085.
  10. ^ Edwards, Todd. "Helen B Taussig - a Founder of Pediatric Cardiology". www.womeninmedicinemagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  11. ^ "Helen Brooke Taussig | Jewish Women's Archive". jwa.org.
  12. ^ "Hard-earned gains for women at Harvard". Harvard Gazette. 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  13. ^ grand niece Margo Taussig Pinkerton from first-hand accounts from her great aunt.
  14. ^ a b c d Stevenson, Jeanne Hackley (1977). "Helen Brooke Taussig, 1898: The 'Blue Baby' Doctor". Notable Maryland Women. Cambridge, MD: Tidewater.
  15. ^ Taussig, Helen B.; Meserve, Faith L. (1925-03-01). "Rhythmic Contractions in Isolated Strips of Mammalian Ventricle". American Journal of Physiology. Legacy Content. 72 (1): 89–98. doi:10.1152/ajplegacy.1925.72.1.89. ISSN 0002-9513.
  16. ^ a b Kelly, Evelyn B (December 2000). "Helen Brook Taussig". Science and Its Times. 6: 1900 to 1949: 387–388 – via Gale In Context: Global Issues.
  17. ^ a b Evans, William N. (2008). "The relationship between Maude Abbott and Helen Taussig: connecting the historical dots". Cardiology in the Young. 18 (6): 557–564. doi:10.1017/S1047951108002771. ISSN 1467-1107. PMID 18842160. S2CID 13549398.
  18. ^ a b "Helen Taussig: founder and mother of pediatric cardiology | Hektoen International". hekint.org. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  19. ^ a b c d Neill, C A; Clark, E B (1994). "Tetralogy of Fallot. The first 300 years". Texas Heart Institute Journal. 21 (4): 272–279. ISSN 0730-2347. PMC 325189. PMID 7888802.
  20. ^ Marieb, Elaine Nicpon, 1936- (2018). Human anatomy & physiology. Hoehn, Katja (Eleventh ed.). [Hoboken, New Jersey]. ISBN 9780134580999. OCLC 1004376412.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ "Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)". www.heart.org. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  22. ^ a b c McNamara, Dan (1987). "Helen Brooke Taussig: 1898 to 1986". Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 10 (3): 662–671. doi:10.1016/S0735-1097(87)80211-5. PMID 3305662.
  23. ^ a b c Altman, Lawrence K. (1986-05-22). "Dr. Helen Taussig, 87, Dies; Led in Blue Baby Operation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  24. ^ a b "OBITUARIES : 'First Lady of Cardiology' Dies in Crash : Dr. Helen Brooke Taussig Pioneered 'Blue-Baby' Operation". Los Angeles Times. 1986-05-23. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  25. ^ Vricella, Luca A.; Jacobs, Marshall L.; Cameron, Duke E. (2013). "The birth of a new era: the introduction of the systemic-to-pulmonary artery shunt for the treatment of cyanotic congenital heart disease". Cardiology in the Young. 23 (6): 852–857. doi:10.1017/S1047951113001996. ISSN 1047-9511. PMID 24401258. S2CID 37408731.
  26. ^ Blalock, Alfred; Taussig, Helen (1945). "The Surgical Treatment of Malformations of the Heart in Which There Is Pulmonary Stenosis or Pulmonary Atresia". Journal of the American Medical Association. 128 (3): 189–202. doi:10.1001/jama.1945.02860200029009.
  27. ^ "Department of Surgery - Norwood Procedure". surgery.ucsf.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  28. ^ Kiran, Usha; Aggarwal, Shivani; Choudhary, Arin; Uma, B; Kapoor, Poonam Malhotra (2017). "The Blalock and Taussig Shunt Revisited". Annals of Cardiac Anaesthesia. 20 (3): 323–330. doi:10.4103/aca.ACA_80_17. ISSN 0971-9784. PMC 5535574. PMID 28701598.
  29. ^ a b c d Bailey, Martha J. (1994). American Women in Science. ABC-CLIO. p. 387. ISBN 0-87436-740-9.
  30. ^ Wanzer, Sidney H.; Adelstein, S.James; Cranford, Ronald E.; Federman, Daniel D.; Hook, Edward D.; Moertel, Charles G.; Safar, Peter; Stone, Alan; Taussig, Helen B.; Eys, Jan van (1984-04-12). "The Physician's Responsibility toward Hopelessly Ill Patients". New England Journal of Medicine. 310 (15): 955–959. doi:10.1056/nejm198404123101505. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 6700692.
  31. ^ Taussig, Helen B. (1988). "Evolutionary origin of cardiac malformations". Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 12 (4): 1079–1086. doi:10.1016/0735-1097(88)90479-2. ISSN 0735-1097. PMID 3047192.
  32. ^ "Congenital Malformations of the Heart, Volume I: General Considerations — Helen B. Taussig | Harvard University Press". www.hup.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  33. ^ Doyle, E. F. (1961-05-01). "Congenital Malformations of the Heart: Vol. I: General Considerations". Pediatrics. 27 (5): 771. doi:10.1542/peds.27.5.771. ISSN 0031-4005. S2CID 70575222.
  34. ^ Evans, William N. (2010). "Helen Brooke Taussig and Edwards Albert Park: the early years (1927–1930)". Cardiology in the Young. 20 (4): 387–395. doi:10.1017/S1047951110000259. ISSN 1047-9511. PMID 20444313. S2CID 43180329.
  35. ^ Taussig, Helen B.; Bing, Richard J. (1949). "Complete transposition of the aorta and a levoposition of the pulmonary artery". American Heart Journal. 37 (4): 551–559. doi:10.1016/0002-8703(49)91133-3. PMID 18114947.
  36. ^ Griselli, Massimo; McGuirk, Simon P.; Ko, Chung-Sen; Clarke, Andrew J. B.; Barron, David J.; Brawn, William J. (2007-02-01). "Arterial switch operation in patients with Taussig–Bing anomaly — influence of staged repair and coronary anatomy on outcome". European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. 31 (2): 229–235. doi:10.1016/j.ejcts.2006.11.034. ISSN 1010-7940. PMID 17223568.
  37. ^ "Double outlet right ventricle : MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia". medlineplus.gov. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  38. ^ a b c Callahan, Clara A. (1996). Benjamin F. Shearer; Barbara S. Shearer (eds.). Helen Brooke Taussig. Notable Women in the Life Sciences. ISBN 0-313-29302-3.
  39. ^ "Helen B. Taussig". geni_family_tree. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  40. ^ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter T" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  41. ^ "HWS: The Blackwell Award". www.hws.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  42. ^ "Helen B. Taussig". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  43. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  44. ^ "Taussig, Helen Brooke". National Women's Hall of Fame.
  45. ^ "AMWA". American Medical Women's Association. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  46. ^ "College Advising Program". Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  47. ^ "Awards – by Award – YIDP – Young Investigators Day".
  48. ^ "Something the Lord Made - IMDb". IMDb.

Further reading

  • Baldwin, Joyce (1992). To heal the heart of a child : Helen Taussig, M.D. New York: Walker. ISBN 9780802781673.
  • Yount, Lisa (2012). Alfred Blalock, Helen Taussig, and Vivien Thomas mending children's hearts. New York: Chelsea House. ISBN 9781604136586.
  • Reynolds, Moira Davison (2004). American women scientists : 23 inspiring biographies, 1900-2000. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. ISBN 9780786421619.

January 13, 2023
helen, taussig, helen, brooke, taussig, 1898, 1986, american, cardiologist, working, baltimore, boston, founded, field, pediatric, cardiology, credited, with, developing, concept, procedure, that, would, extend, lives, children, born, with, tetralogy, fallot, . Helen Brooke Taussig May 24 1898 May 20 1986 was an American cardiologist working in Baltimore and Boston who founded the field of pediatric cardiology She is credited with developing the concept for a procedure that would extend the lives of children born with Tetralogy of Fallot the most common cause of blue baby syndrome This concept was applied in practice as a procedure known as the Blalock Thomas Taussig shunt The procedure was developed by Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas who were Taussig s colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Hospital Helen Brooke TaussigBorn 1898 05 24 May 24 1898Cambridge Massachusetts USDied20 May 1986 1986 05 20 aged 87 Kennett Square Pennsylvania USAlma materJohns Hopkins School of MedicineKnown forFounding figure of paediatric cardiology Blalock Thomas Taussig shunt Role in banning of thalidomideAwardsE Mead Johnson Award 1947 Lasker DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award 1954 Presidential Medal of Freedom 1964 Elizabeth Blackwell Award 1970 John Howland Award 1971 Scientific careerFieldsCardiologyTaussig was partially deaf following an ear infection in childhood in early adulthood this progressed to full deafness 1 To compensate for her loss of hearing she learned to use lip reading techniques and hearing aids to speak with her patients Taussing also developed a method of using her fingers rather than a stethoscope to feel the rhythm of their heartbeats 2 3 Some of her innovations have been attributed to her ability to diagnose heart problems by touch rather than by sound 2 Taussig is also known for her work in banning thalidomide and was widely recognized as a highly skilled physician She was the first woman to be elected head of the American Heart Association She was more proud of the fact that she was the first pediatrician to be elected head of the AMA and in 1964 she was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom 4 Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Blalock Thomas Taussig shunt 2 1 Concept 2 2 The first surgeries 2 3 Legacy 3 Further career 3 1 Banning of thalidomide 4 Retirement and death 5 Honors 6 Film portrayals 7 References 8 Further readingEarly life and education EditHelen Brooke Taussig was born in Cambridge Massachusetts on May 24 1898 to F W Taussig and Edith Thomas Guild the youngest of four children Her father was an economist at Harvard University and her mother was one of the first students at Radcliffe College a women s college She spent summers as a child in Cotuit Massachusetts 5 and later in life had a home there 6 When Taussig was 11 years old her mother died of tuberculosis 7 Helen also contracted the disease and was ill for several years severely affecting her ability to do schoolwork She also struggled with severe dyslexia through her early school years and was partially deaf 8 Despite this she did well at school due to diligent work and extensive tutoring from her father 9 She graduated from Cambridge School for Girls in 1917 2 10 then studied for two years at Radcliffe College before earning a bachelor s degree and Phi Beta Kappa membership 11 from the University of California Berkeley in 1921 2 After graduating Taussig wished to study at Harvard Medical School but the medical programme did not accept women this was the case until 1945 though the first woman had applied nearly 100 years earlier in 1847 12 1 The program actually did accept women in theory but would not give them a degree When Taussig was told this by the dean of the medical school she asked why anyone would want to attend without any hope of getting a degree to which the dean replied That is what we are hoping Taussig responded Well I shall not be the first to disappoint you and left 13 Instead she considered applying to study public health partially because her father thought it a more suitable field for women 14 but learned that as a woman she could attend the programme but would not be recognised with a degree She later reported asking the dean Who wants to study for four years and get no degree for all that work and his replying Nobody I hope 14 Taussig ended up taking classes at Boston University in histology bacteriology and anatomy without expecting to receive a degree 8 She had to sit apart from her male colleagues at the back of lecture theatres and was not supposed to speak to them 1 As an anatomy student at Boston University in 1925 she published her first scientific paper on studies of ox heart muscles with Alexander Begg 15 With the encouragement of her professor Alexander Begg Taussig applied to transfer to the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine one of the few medical schools to admit women at the time and was accepted as a full degree candidate 8 16 17 After completing her MD degree in 1927 at Johns Hopkins Taussig remained for one year as a cardiology fellow and for two years as a pediatrics intern 2 and received two Archibald Fellowships spanning 1927 1930 8 Taussig wanted to specialise in Internal Medicine but there was only one position available for a woman in that field and it was already taken she therefore decided to specialise in pediatrics and ended up working in pediatric cardiology a field that was still in its infancy 1 Blalock Thomas Taussig shunt EditConcept Edit Taussig s early career in pediatric cardiology at Johns Hopkins consisted of studying babies with congenital heart defects and rheumatic fever 16 an inflammation of the heart and other organs resulting from bacterial infection which was at the time a major source of child mortality In the early 20th century rheumatic heart disease made up the majority of clinical cardiology work congenital heart defects were considered hopeless curiosities as the surgical means to correct them were extremely undeveloped so relatively little could be done to prevent the early deaths of patients with these conditions 18 She then was hired by the pediatric department of Johns Hopkins the Harriet Lane Home as its chief where she served from 1930 until 1963 Taussig made use of fluoroscopy as a diagnostic tool and developed a particular interest in infants with cyanosis blue tinged appearance often caused by the heart defect Tetralogy of Fallot 19 Cyanosis is caused when insufficient oxygenated blood is circulating around the body in infants it can be known as blue baby syndrome Taussig is most remembered for her role in the development of a surgical treatment for this condition the Blalock Thomas Taussig shunt A new surgery first performed in 1939 by Robert Gross corrected a common pediatric heart problem patent ductus arteriosus The ductus arteriosus is a small blood vessel connecting the pulmonary artery to the aorta of a foetus Since the foetus obtains oxygen via the mother s placenta and not via its own lungs which are fluid filled and not yet functional this vessel provides a shortcut bypassing the lungs and allowing more efficient delivery of oxygenated blood around the foetus body 20 In most infants the ductus arteriosus closes within a few weeks of birth so that blood flows to the lungs to be oxygenated if it remains open or patent the normal flow of blood is disrupted 21 This new surgical procedure artificially closed the blood vessel While this was going on Taussig observed that infants with cyanotic heart defects such as Tetralogy of Fallot or pulmonary atresia often fared remarkably better if they also had a patent ductus arteriosus with less severe symptoms and longer survival 1 In general cyanotic symptoms would often begin or worsen shortly after birth a change which Taussig suspected was caused by the natural closure of the ductus arteriosus 19 In cyanotic children bloodflow from the heart to the lungs via the pulmonary artery is often compromised Taussig thought that surgically creating an artificial ductus linking these two vessels could increase bloodflow to the lungs and alleviate this problem increasing survival 14 She broached the idea to Robert Gross and he was skeptical reportedly telling her I have enough trouble closing the ductus arteriosus I certainly don t want to try to make an artificial one 4 1 22 The first surgeries Edit Two years later Taussig obtained the collaboration of Johns Hopkins new chief of surgery Alfred Blalock and his laboratory assistant Vivien Thomas The three of them developed a surgery now known as the Blalock Thomas Taussig shunt Originally it was referred to as the Blalock Taussig shunt the critical input of Vivien Thomas was overlooked because of his non academic role and because of his race 1 Following extensive experimentation on about 200 dogs 23 on November 9 1944 Blalock and Thomas performed the surgery on the first human patient 1 24 Eileen Saxon a 15 month old baby had arrived at the emergency department earlier that month severely underweight at just 5 kg purplish blue in colour and hardly able to drink a sip without gasping for breath Taussig diagnosed her with Tetralogy of Fallot a diagnosis which meant that without intervention she certainly would not survive to adulthood 1 The procedure was an immediate success Eileen s colour quickly returned to normal she could drink milk more easily and gained a few kilograms Two months after the surgery she was discharged from hospital 1 However she became cyanotic again a few months later and died shortly before her second birthday 25 Despite Eileen s death the operation was proof that the Blalock Thomas Taussig shunt could in principle be used to extend the lives of children with cyanotic heart disease By 1945 this operation had been performed on a total of three infants with pulmonary stenosis and pulmonary atresia As Alfred Blalock and Helen Taussig wrote in Journal of the American Medical Association Heretofore there has been no satisfactory treatment for pulmonary stenosis and pulmonary atresia A blue baby with a malformed heart was considered beyond the reach of surgical aid During the past three months we have operated on 3 children with severe degrees of pulmonary stenosis and each of the patients appears to be greatly benefited In the second and third cases in which there was deep persistent cyanosis the cyanosis has greatly diminished or has disappeared and the general condition of the patients is proportionally improved 26 Following this report and lectures given by Blalock and Taussig at conferences around Europe and America the procedure quickly gained worldwide acceptance 1 19 Legacy Edit With the international fame this surgery drew parents worldwide began coming to Baltimore to have their blue babies treated by Blalock and Taussig The rapid influx of prospective patients was so great that the clinic struggled to cope and medical visitors from around the world came to assist and to share knowledge 22 By 1951 the team had operated on over 1 000 children and the surgery had a mortality rate of only 5 1 One of the major benefits of this surgery was that children gained the ability to play actively without the rapid exhaustion and frequent loss of consciousness that usually results from cyanotic heart defects Helen Taussig reportedly kept a letter on her mantelpiece from twelve year old Jean Pierre Cablan written after undergoing the procedure Je suis maintenant un tout autre petit garcon je vais pouvoir aller jouer avec mes petits camarades 19 I am now a completely new boy I will be able to play with the other children Often an immediate improvement in the level of cyanosis could be seen as well Taussig later recalled I suppose nothing would ever give me as much delight as seeing the first patient change from blue to pink in the operating room bright pink cheeks and bright lips 4 Nowadays the Blalock Thomas Taussig shunt is useful for prolonging life and improving health in infants before heart defects can be definitively repaired commonly as the first stage of the three step Norwood Procedure 27 It allows infants to survive and gain weight before more complex surgeries are later attempted and is used in the care of patients with Tetralogy of Fallot pulmonary atresia and more rare and complex abnormalities 28 At the time of Taussig s death tens of thousands of children s lives had been saved by the shunt procedure 23 Further career EditAs a physician Taussig pioneered the use of x rays and fluoroscopy simultaneously to examine changes in a baby s heart and lungs in a less invasive manner 29 and was very skilled in diagnosing heart conditions by feeling the heartbeat with her fingertips rather than listening with a stethoscope 1 As well as her day to day clinical work as a paediatrician Taussig was also an accomplished academic clinician She published 100 academic articles over her career considering various aspects of cardiology including biomedical ethics 30 and the evolutionary origins of heart disease 31 In her research into the long term outcomes of recipients of the shunt Taussig remained in touch with many of her patients as they grew to adulthood and middle age 22 In 1947 after a decade of gathering material 17 Taussig published her magnum opus Congenital Malformations of the Heart 32 considered to be the foundational text of pediatric cardiology as an independent field 8 The book was expanded into two volumes for a second edition published in 1960 33 Taussig later became an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine she was promoted to full professor in 1959 At the time she was only the second woman to reach full professor status at the university 18 She continued to serve as the director of the Harriet Lane Home the children s treatment and research centre at Johns Hopkins until her retirement in 1963 Most paediatric clinics at the time focussed on rheumatic fever which was the major source of child mortality but because of Taussig s experience the Harriet Lane Home was also able to provide specialist care for children with congenital heart disease 34 It became a world leading centre that aspiring surgeons flocked to 1 Together with the cardiologist Richard Bing Taussig was in 1949 the first to describe a heart condition now known as Taussig Bing syndrome 9 35 This is the second most common type of double outlet right ventricle DORV 36 a set of rare congenital heart conditions in which the aorta which is supposed to carry oxygen rich blood from the left ventricle of the heart instead is connected to the right ventricle and supplies oxygen poor blood to the body 37 Several alternative methods for surgically correcting this defect have been tried over the decades since the problem was first described and survival rates following surgical intervention are greatly improved in recent decades 9 Banning of thalidomide Edit Around 1960 many more babies than usual began to be born in Germany Belgium and the Netherlands with phocomelia a previously very rare condition in which limbs are absent or small and abnormally formed The German paediatrician Widukind Lenz was the first to draw a link to the increasing frequency of this condition and thalidomide a drug which was a popular sleeping medication at the time with the trade name Softenon and was often taken by pregnant women to counter morning sickness However when it is taken between days 35 and 49 of a pregnancy it blocks normal limb development and causes phocomelia 1 After hearing about this issue from one of her students in January 1962 Taussig travelled to Germany and examined some of these children for herself She reached the same conclusion as Lenz that thalidomide taken during pregnancy was causing phocomelia 1 She flew back to America and launched a campaign to try to stop the pending approval of thalidomide by the FDA speaking at the American College of Physicians writing in journals and magazines and testifying before Congress in 1967 8 Her and others efforts paid off the drug was banned in the United States and Europe Retirement and death EditTaussig formally retired from Johns Hopkins in 1963 but continued to teach give lectures and lobby for various causes In addition she kept writing scientific papers of the 129 total that Taussig wrote 41 were after her retirement from Johns Hopkins 4 She advocated for the use of animals in medical research and for legalized abortion as well as the benefits of palliative care and hospice 8 38 In 1977 Taussig moved to a retirement community in Kennett Square Pennsylvania Ever active she continued making periodic trips to the University of Delaware for research work 39 At the time of her death she was researching the genetic basis for congenital heart defects in birds 8 24 On May 20 1986 four days short of her 88th birthday Taussig was driving a group of friends to vote in a local election when her car collided with another vehicle at an intersection She died about an hour later at Chester County Hospital and donated her body to Johns Hopkins 23 Honors Edit1947 Chevalier knight of the Legion d Honneur 5 1948 Passano Foundation Award for an outstanding contribution to medical science shared with Alfred Blalock the first time this award was shared and the first time it was awarded to a woman 14 1953 Honorary medal from the American College of Chest Physicians 1954 Feltrinelli Award 8 1954 Albert Lasker Award for Outstanding Contributions to Medicine 2 1957 Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 40 1957 Eleanor Roosevelt Achievement Award 5 1960 Honorary fellow of the American College of Cardiology 1963 Gold Heart Award 29 1963 Achievement Award from the American Association of University Women 1964 Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded by President Lyndon Johnson 5 1965 The University of Gottingen named its cardiac clinic in honor of Taussig 8 1965 First woman and first pediatrician to be elected president of the American Heart Association 8 1970 Blackwell Award from Hobart and William Smith Colleges 41 1971 Howland Award from the American Pediatric Society 1973 Elected to the National Academy of Sciences 42 27 years after Blalock was elected for their joint work on the Blalock Taussig shunt 29 1973 Elected to the American Philosophical Society 43 1973 Inducted into the National Women s Hall of Fame 44 1976 Awarded the Milton S Eisenhower Medal for Distinguished Service by Johns Hopkins 38 1982 Elizabeth Blackwell Medal awarded by the American Medical Women s Association 45 2005 Johns Hopkins School of Medicine named one of its four colleges in her honor 46 as well as the Helen B Taussig Congenital Heart Disease Center 2018 The Helen B Taussig Research Award began to be given out to postdoctoral fellows holding appointments in the Basic Sciences and clinical Departments at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine 47 Throughout her career Taussig earned more than 20 honorary degrees 38 Taussig was a member of several professional societies during her career She was a member of the American Pediatric Society the Society for Pediatric Research and the American College of Physicians 29 Film portrayals EditIn the 2004 HBO movie Something the Lord Made about the life of Vivien Thomas Dr Taussig was portrayed by Mary Stuart Masterson The movie was nominated for many awards and won several 48 References Edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Van Robays J 2016 Helen B Taussig 1898 1986 Facts Views amp Vision in ObGyn 8 3 183 187 ISSN 2032 0418 PMC 5172576 PMID 28003874 a b c d e f Changing the Face of Medicine Dr Helen Brooke Taussig National Library of Medicine Retrieved 5 October 2013 Helen Brooke Taussig American physician Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 2020 02 25 a b c d Swaby Rachel 2015 Headstrong 52 Women Who Changed Science and the World Broadway Books A Division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc pp 20 21 ISBN 978 0 553 44679 1 OCLC 903952884 a b c d Taussig Helen Brooke 1898 1986 Dictionary definition of Taussig Helen Brooke 1898 1986 Encyclopedia com FREE online dictionary Retrieved 2017 05 03 ENTINE vs REILLY MISC 13 477228 Retrieved 2017 05 03 Yount Lisa 1994 Contemporary Women Scientists New York Facts on File p 2 ISBN 0 8160 2895 8 Retrieved 9 November 2016 a b c d e f g h i j k Harvey Joy Ogilvie Marilyn 2000 The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science Routledge ISBN 0 415 92038 8 a b c Konstantinov Igor E 2009 Taussig Bing Anomaly Texas Heart Institute Journal 36 6 580 585 ISSN 0730 2347 PMC 2801930 PMID 20069085 Edwards Todd Helen B Taussig a Founder of Pediatric Cardiology www womeninmedicinemagazine com Retrieved 2020 02 26 Helen Brooke Taussig Jewish Women s Archive jwa org Hard earned gains for women at Harvard Harvard Gazette 2012 04 26 Retrieved 2020 03 22 grand niece Margo Taussig Pinkerton from first hand accounts from her great aunt a b c d Stevenson Jeanne Hackley 1977 Helen Brooke Taussig 1898 The Blue Baby Doctor Notable Maryland Women Cambridge MD Tidewater Taussig Helen B Meserve Faith L 1925 03 01 Rhythmic Contractions in Isolated Strips of Mammalian Ventricle American Journal of Physiology Legacy Content 72 1 89 98 doi 10 1152 ajplegacy 1925 72 1 89 ISSN 0002 9513 a b Kelly Evelyn B December 2000 Helen Brook Taussig Science and Its Times 6 1900 to 1949 387 388 via Gale In Context Global Issues a b Evans William N 2008 The relationship between Maude Abbott and Helen Taussig connecting the historical dots Cardiology in the Young 18 6 557 564 doi 10 1017 S1047951108002771 ISSN 1467 1107 PMID 18842160 S2CID 13549398 a b Helen Taussig founder and mother of pediatric cardiology Hektoen International hekint org Retrieved 2020 03 23 a b c d Neill C A Clark E B 1994 Tetralogy of Fallot The first 300 years Texas Heart Institute Journal 21 4 272 279 ISSN 0730 2347 PMC 325189 PMID 7888802 Marieb Elaine Nicpon 1936 2018 Human anatomy amp physiology Hoehn Katja Eleventh ed Hoboken New Jersey ISBN 9780134580999 OCLC 1004376412 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Patent Ductus Arteriosus PDA www heart org Retrieved 2020 03 22 a b c McNamara Dan 1987 Helen Brooke Taussig 1898 to 1986 Journal of the American College of Cardiology 10 3 662 671 doi 10 1016 S0735 1097 87 80211 5 PMID 3305662 a b c Altman Lawrence K 1986 05 22 Dr Helen Taussig 87 Dies Led in Blue Baby Operation The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2020 03 23 a b OBITUARIES First Lady of Cardiology Dies in Crash Dr Helen Brooke Taussig Pioneered Blue Baby Operation Los Angeles Times 1986 05 23 Retrieved 2020 03 23 Vricella Luca A Jacobs Marshall L Cameron Duke E 2013 The birth of a new era the introduction of the systemic to pulmonary artery shunt for the treatment of cyanotic congenital heart disease Cardiology in the Young 23 6 852 857 doi 10 1017 S1047951113001996 ISSN 1047 9511 PMID 24401258 S2CID 37408731 Blalock Alfred Taussig Helen 1945 The Surgical Treatment of Malformations of the Heart in Which There Is Pulmonary Stenosis or Pulmonary Atresia Journal of the American Medical Association 128 3 189 202 doi 10 1001 jama 1945 02860200029009 Department of Surgery Norwood Procedure surgery ucsf edu Retrieved 2020 03 23 Kiran Usha Aggarwal Shivani Choudhary Arin Uma B Kapoor Poonam Malhotra 2017 The Blalock and Taussig Shunt Revisited Annals of Cardiac Anaesthesia 20 3 323 330 doi 10 4103 aca ACA 80 17 ISSN 0971 9784 PMC 5535574 PMID 28701598 a b c d Bailey Martha J 1994 American Women in Science ABC CLIO p 387 ISBN 0 87436 740 9 Wanzer Sidney H Adelstein S James Cranford Ronald E Federman Daniel D Hook Edward D Moertel Charles G Safar Peter Stone Alan Taussig Helen B Eys Jan van 1984 04 12 The Physician s Responsibility toward Hopelessly Ill Patients New England Journal of Medicine 310 15 955 959 doi 10 1056 nejm198404123101505 ISSN 0028 4793 PMID 6700692 Taussig Helen B 1988 Evolutionary origin of cardiac malformations Journal of the American College of Cardiology 12 4 1079 1086 doi 10 1016 0735 1097 88 90479 2 ISSN 0735 1097 PMID 3047192 Congenital Malformations of the Heart Volume I General Considerations Helen B Taussig Harvard University Press www hup harvard edu Retrieved 2020 03 22 Doyle E F 1961 05 01 Congenital Malformations of the Heart Vol I General Considerations Pediatrics 27 5 771 doi 10 1542 peds 27 5 771 ISSN 0031 4005 S2CID 70575222 Evans William N 2010 Helen Brooke Taussig and Edwards Albert Park the early years 1927 1930 Cardiology in the Young 20 4 387 395 doi 10 1017 S1047951110000259 ISSN 1047 9511 PMID 20444313 S2CID 43180329 Taussig Helen B Bing Richard J 1949 Complete transposition of the aorta and a levoposition of the pulmonary artery American Heart Journal 37 4 551 559 doi 10 1016 0002 8703 49 91133 3 PMID 18114947 Griselli Massimo McGuirk Simon P Ko Chung Sen Clarke Andrew J B Barron David J Brawn William J 2007 02 01 Arterial switch operation in patients with Taussig Bing anomaly influence of staged repair and coronary anatomy on outcome European Journal of Cardio Thoracic Surgery 31 2 229 235 doi 10 1016 j ejcts 2006 11 034 ISSN 1010 7940 PMID 17223568 Double outlet right ventricle MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia medlineplus gov Retrieved 2020 03 22 a b c Callahan Clara A 1996 Benjamin F Shearer Barbara S Shearer eds Helen Brooke Taussig Notable Women in the Life Sciences ISBN 0 313 29302 3 Helen B Taussig geni family tree Retrieved 2020 02 26 Book of Members 1780 2010 Chapter T PDF American Academy of Arts and Sciences Retrieved July 29 2014 HWS The Blackwell Award www hws edu Retrieved 2020 03 22 Helen B Taussig National Academy of Sciences Retrieved July 29 2014 APS Member History search amphilsoc org Retrieved 2022 08 11 Taussig Helen Brooke National Women s Hall of Fame AMWA American Medical Women s Association Retrieved 2020 03 22 College Advising Program Retrieved 25 July 2012 Awards by Award YIDP Young Investigators Day Something the Lord Made IMDb IMDb Further reading EditBaldwin Joyce 1992 To heal the heart of a child Helen Taussig M D New York Walker ISBN 9780802781673 Yount Lisa 2012 Alfred Blalock Helen Taussig and Vivien Thomas mending children s hearts New York Chelsea House ISBN 9781604136586 Reynolds Moira Davison 2004 American women scientists 23 inspiring biographies 1900 2000 Jefferson N C McFarland ISBN 9780786421619 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Helen B Taussig amp oldid 1131079388, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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