Here's a look back at an Erie doctor's heart surgery milestones, which began in 1959
In a career filled with many milestones, Dr. George D'Angelo performed perhaps his most important surgery 60 years ago this week when he closed a silver-dollar-sized hole between two chambers of 11-year-old John Chiota's heart on Nov. 19, 1962.
It was Erie's first open-heart surgery, and it came years before the procedure was attempted in other cities Erie's size. Physicians still credit D'Angelo for the domino effect that surgery had on health care in northwestern Pennsylvania.
But the open-heart surgery wasn't D'Angelo's only breakthrough during his 40-year career at what is now UPMC Hamot and Saint Vincent Hospital. Here is a list of other achievements:
1959 — First heart surgery in Erie, a closed procedure
1962 — First open-heart surgery in Erie
1964 — First heart valve replacement surgery
1965 — Inserted the first cardiac pacemaker
1969 — First coronary-bypass surgery
Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNBruce.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Dr. George D'Angelo's heart surgery milestones and history in Erie
