| Andreas
R. Gruentzig (1939-1985) |
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After employing Dotter's techniques of transluminal angioplasty, which
he had learned from Eberhart Zeitler in Nuremberg, Andreas Gruentzig,
a young German physician working at University Hospital in Zurich,
Switzerland, began toying with the idea of adding a balloon to the
Dotter catheters. He started fashioning prototypes in his own kitchen,
searching for a viable material and design. In 1975 he developed a
double-lumen catheter fitted with a polyvinylchloride balloon that
would set in motion a revolution in medicine. 
He presented the results of animal studies with the balloon at the
American Heart Association meeting in 1976 and was met with skepticism,
although a few individuals saw the potential of his work. Dr. Richard
Myler of Saint Mary's Hospital in San Francisco suggested they collaborate
and the two performed the first human coronary angioplasty intraoperatively
during bypass surgery in San Francisco. In September 1977, in Zurich Switzerland, Gruentzig performed the first coronary angioplasty on an awake human. Now, a year later, when he presented the results of his first four angioplasty cases to the 1977 AHA meeting, the audience burst into applause, acknowledging his breakthrough with a standing ovation. 
Gruentzig began a careful, rigorous process of furthering and disseminating
the technique through live demonstration courses and establishment
of a PTCA registry at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
to gather and share experience. Throughout the 1980's, improvements
in angioplasty technology continued exponentially. |
Gruentzig's breakthrough was a synthesis of all that had come before and because of the brilliant way in which he fostered its acceptance, the field of interventional cardiology has forever altered the role of the cardiologist in treating coronary artery disease. Following are some video clips of an interview with Dr. Gruentzig, conducted in September of 1985, one month before a plane crash claimed his life. The interview was conducted in his office at Emory University Hospital by Burt Cohen. We've titled these clips "Grand Rounds" and the topics are:
To view this clip, you will need the Real VideoPlayer Plug-in. If you
don't have it, you can download
it for free. |
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