History of Surgery for Mitral Stenosis: John Mayow to Charles Bailey

Abstract

Mitral stenosis was first described in 1674 by Englishman John Mayow, but surgical intervention for mitral stenosis was proposed over 2 centuries later in 1898. Mitral valve surgery was undertaken in the 1920s with varying success; after 2 decades of staggered progress, mitral valvuloplasty and commissurotomy would be rediscovered by Americans Horace Smithy, Charles Bailey, and Dwight Harken. The evolution of open surgery for mitral stenosis suggests the troubled triumph of humanity over disease while also underlining surgeons' inability to successfully disseminate their pioneering ideas to a community critical of innovation.