A life for heart medicine - Pioneers of cardiac surgery are 90 years old

What is important for a good and dedicated doctor, Prof. Wolfgang Bircks and Prof. Hans Georg Borst know exactly: empathy, willingness to sacrifice, scientific understanding and the desire to receive medical training throughout their lives. 90 years have become the pioneers of heart medicine this year. Specialist journals of her specialty, cardiac surgery, are still being read. But they are also fathers and grandfathers, dedicated to literature and their families, for whom there was not much time during medical careers. Medicine is a vocation; the patient is in the foreground. Both seem modest in the conversation; above all, thankful and free of vanity for their outstanding medical achievements.

Anniversaries: 1927. Before the discovery of penicillin. Prior to the breakdown of the human human DNA double helix by Watson and Crick. Before implanting the first pacemaker and exactly 40 years before the first heart transplant. Born in the Rhineland, Bircks and Münchener Borst were born in a time of upheaval, marked by the time of the Second World War, and since their studies they have shared enthusiasm and passion for medicine, and in their field of expertise, cardiac surgery.

The heart consists of two atria and two chambers separated by valves and partitions. (Image: lom123 / fotolia.com)

For Bircks, the time as a nurse in the years 1946 and 1947 was significant. "There was no place for me to study at that time. Many who came out of the field, and many wounded, I have cared there. These were drastic and important experiences, "recalls Bircks. In the winter semester of 1947, the physician born in Rommerskirchen near Cologne began his studies in Bonn and later in Freiburg, Hamburg and Dusseldorf. For 22 years, Bircks was Professor of Surgery / Cardiac Surgery at the University of Düsseldorf and Director of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the University Hospital there. In 1992 he was retired, in 1994 awarded the Cross of Merit 1st Class.

In 1997, the then University / Gesamthochschule Essen awarded him an honorary doctorate. Under his untiring dedication and direction, the heart surgery clinic in Dusseldorf has developed into one of the most respected cardiac surgery institutions nationwide. "I was allowed to learn from Ernst Derra, was his colleague," reports Bircks about the internationally recognized cardiac surgeon. "Many of the interventions that we made then were first made. These were no special exploits. We simply did not have anyone to fool us, so we had to be self-taught, "says Bircks. A number of new surgical methods that have paved the way for today's procedures have been developed and introduced. These include successful long-term perfusion with a membrane oxygenator in pulmonary insufficiency and the first implantation of an automatic defibrillator.

Heart medicine required courage and ingenuity. In addition, the exchange. "We communicated via telephone and fax," reports Bircks. "Nationally and internationally, we heart surgeons often knew each other personally and well. We met to discuss new methods or techniques. "So Bircks and Borst are companions in cardiac surgery. It combines a collegial friendship, carried by appreciation of each life achievement.
Both physicians are among the founding fathers of the German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery e.V., the scientific and medical specialist society that represents the interests of today's approximately one thousand heart surgeons working in Germany. "The increasing specialization and further development led us to found a specialist society for this special field of study, which is dedicated to research, teaching and consulting," explains Hans Georg Borst.

Borst's passion for medicine was already exemplified by his father, Max Borst, long-term professor of pathology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. For the time, the young medical students opened up completely new and innovative ways. "I was born with a golden spoon in my mouth. I know that. And I took advantage of that and made the best of it, "reflects Borst. From 1950 to 1953 he studied at Harvard Medical School, where in 1953 he became M.D. was awarded a doctorate. Subsequently, the young doctor worked from 1953/54 in the surgery of Stanford Medical School and until 1956 at the Harvard School for Public Health. "You have to imagine that. I came back to Germany and could speak English. A matter of course these days, but something special back then, "says Borst. After his return to Germany Borst was from 1958 to 1968 chief senior physician for thoracic surgery of the University Hospital in Munich, before he moved in 1968 to the newly founded Medical School of Hannover and worked as a professor of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery.

Like his colleagues in Dusseldorf, Borst made significant and groundbreaking contributions to the development of heart valve, pediatric cardiac and coronary surgery. At the first open heart surgery 1958 in Marburg Borst was significantly involved and served u.a. the heart-lung machine - a decisive and revolutionary breakthrough for the entire heart surgery. Under his leadership, the surgical department in Hannover became one of the leading research institutes for both transplantation medicine and aortic surgery. Like his colleague Bircks, Borst is recognized as an internationally renowned and renowned cardiac surgeon, has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class. Both pioneers have significantly advanced and influenced the development of cardiac surgery, so that they are widely recognized for their performance on international terrain. In addition, several hundred specialist publications each testify to the research and promotional drive of these two heart pioneers.

As they saw themselves as chief physicians, both heart specialists see very reflected. "I am a Rhinelander," says Bircks. "We have different motivations. From today's point of view, I see myself as acceptable to justifiable. Objective and objective for the staff ". Borst perceives something similar. The tone in the OR can be rougher, nothing is meant personally, the patient is in the foreground, and ultimately it's all about his well-being.

What you as a cardiac surgeon still desire at the age of 90, both doctors know very well: that the head also works as long as the heart beats. Gratitude accompanies her everyday life today. For the experience and also the done. Thousands of patients are certainly grateful, and they will certainly benefit even today from the excellent cardiosurgical medicine of these two luminaries.