The Blue Baby Syndromes American Scientist Vivien theodore thomas (august 29, 1910 [1] – november 26, 1985) [2] was an american laboratory supervisor who, in the 1940s, played a major role in developing a procedure now called the blalock–thomas–taussig shunt used to treat blue baby syndrome (now known as cyanotic heart disease) along with surgeon alfred blalock and cardiologist helen b. taussig. [3]. Ellen saxon was just 18 months old, suffering from a fatal heart defect commonly known as blue baby syndrome, when she was presented on a surgery table before dr. blalock. it was nov. 29, 1944, a.
The Blue Baby Syndromes American Scientist Dr. vivien theodore thomas was born in lake providence, louisiana in 1910. the grandson of a slave, vivien thomas attended pearl high school in nashville, and graduated with honors in 1929. in the wake of the stock market crash in october, he secured a job as a laboratory assistant in 1930 with dr. alfred blalock at vanderbilt university. Vivien thomas' life and legacy are rife with colors – black, white and blue.a poor black man and grandson of an enslaved person, thomas was classified as a janitor at johns hopkins university but donned a white lab coat and eventually played a crucial role in developing surgical techniques to overcome tetralogy of fallot, a cause of blue baby syndrome. Dr. vivien thomas is known today for developing surgical techniques for infants that were used to treat so called blue baby syndrome he has a college named after him at johns hopkins and his. Eileen saxon, sometimes referred to as "the blue baby", was the first patient that received the operation now known as blalock–thomas–taussig shunt. she had a condition called tetralogy of fallot, one of the primary congenital defects that lead to blue baby syndrome. in this condition, defects in the great vessels and wall of the heart lead.
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