Lest we forget: Early Canadian contributions to the care of children with congenital heart malformations

In a century of remarkable progress in medicine, one of the outstanding sto ries is the development of successful treatment of congenital heart malform ations. This achievement is the outcome of the ideas and research of many p eople. Many of the early 'transforming' advances originated in Canada. Maud e Abbott catalogued and classified heart malformations in a clinically mean ingful manner. Arthur Charles and David Scott in Toronto, Ontario, produced a clinically useful heparin preparation, and the studies of Bill Bigelow l ed to the application of hypothermia in cardiac surgery. John Keith and Bil l Mustard at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, and Arnold Johnson and T ony Dobell at the Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, establish ed the first Canadian programs devoted to the correction of congenital hear t defects in childhood. Mustard devised the first widely successful operati on for transposition of the great arteries. Flavio Coceani and Peter Olley discovered the role of prostaglandin E in the ductus arteriosus, and applie d that knowledge clinically, The turn of the century is an appropriate time to celebrate these Canadian successes.