Abstract

LOPEZ DE LA CRUZ, Yoandy; MORALES VALDES, Rodolfo E.; ROMERO SANCHEZ, Ramón E.  and  MORALES MATO, Rodolfo. The (un)known history of thoracic incisions. Part II: From the first pericardiotomies to the birth of the median longitudinal sternotomy. CorSalud [online]. 2021, vol.13, n.2, pp. 200-210.  Epub June 01, 2021. ISSN 2078-7170.

The 19th century saw more advances in thoracic surgery than in the more than 40 centuries since the writing of the Edwin Smith papyrus. In a period of less than a century, man approached the pericardial cavity not only to drain effusions, but to successfully suture wounds in the cardiac muscle. Moreover, the first thoracotomies were performed for the specific purpose of resecting lung segments and the sternum was completely opened for the first time, an incision that would eventually become the most widely used of all thoracotomies. Most thoracic surgeons know little about the true story behind many thoracotomies performed in the operating rooms of the 21st century. This second part of our review further unveils the unknown history of thoracic incisions.

Keywords : History of medicine; Thoracotomy; Pericardial effusion; Lung; Mediastinum; Pneumonectomy.

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