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Vivien Thomas

Self-taught Nashville-born surgical technician who pioneered the blue-baby heart operation alongside Dr. Alfred Blalock.

Submitted by @blackwiki
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Born 1910 in New Iberia, LA; raised in Nashville. Lost his savings in the 1929 crash and went to work in Blalock's Vanderbilt lab. The 1944 Blalock-Taussig shunt — which Thomas largely designed and taught Blalock to perform — saved generations of children with congenital heart defects.

Location

Nashville, TN, USA

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