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Blalock and Thomas made medical history by performing the first Tetralogy of Fallot, (blue baby syndrome) successful surgery in 1944 on 15-month-old Eileen Saxon. This would lead to hundreds of other such operations and the invention of techniques and devices aimed at aiding cardiac surgery. Thomas became an important cog of the heart surgery department at Hopkins, eventually becoming the director of Surgical Research Laboratories after Blalock’s death in 1964.

Thomas, who never attended medical school, trained scores of surgeons, most especially African-American students who came through Hopkins. He served as a mentor for Hopkins’ first Black cardiac resident, the late Levi Watkins Jr., among several others. Thomas also aided his former mentee in the development of the groundbreaking automatic implantable defibrillator device.

Thomas was awarded an honorary doctorate by Johns Hopkins University in 1976. Although it was not a medical doctorate, Thomas would called doctor by students and staff via the honor. Toward the end of his 37-year career, Thomas was named part of the School of Medicine faculty as Instructor of Surgery.

Thomas, who died in 1985, was the subject of the 2004 biopic, Something The Lord Made that featured rapper/actor Mos Def in the lead role.

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Little Known Black History Fact: Vivien Thomas  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com

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