Christiaan Neethling BarnardAbdulla Mohamed BugaighisJohn CalamTerence Mark HardikerIan Martin JacksonWilliam Gwyn LewisOlivia (Libby) PottertonAnthony RobinsonAlan Mark Vincent
Obituaries
Christiaan Neethling BarnardAbdulla Mohamed BugaighisJohn CalamTerence Mark HardikerIan Martin JacksonWilliam Gwyn LewisOlivia (Libby) PottertonAnthony RobinsonAlan Mark Vincent
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As a South African, it is touching for me to see a tribute to
Professor CN Barnard in the BMJ. Warts an' all, Barnard was a powerful
inspiration to many of my generation, being, as he was, primarily an
outstanding and versatile surgeon and physician. In fact, many believe
that the first human heart transplant was not the greatest of his
achievements - a moot point in view of what he accomplished in virtual
obscurity even before taking his place on the world's stage.
As a post-
graduate student in medicine in the mid-1950's, Barnard pioneered the use
of intrathecal antimicrobials for cerebro-spinal Tuberculosis in children
who were otherwise destined to a vegetative existence and drastically
reduced life expectancy. The regime developed by Barnard was readily
adopted by the WHO and must have saved (and improved the quality of) many
more lives than heart transplantation. Barnard later transferred to the
Department of Surgery at The University of Cape Town where he researched
and identified the vascular origin of congenital intestinal atresia by
successfully and meticulously reproducing the anomaly in canine foetuses.
Barnard's findings significantly improved the outcome of resectional
surgery in children who had previously, seldom survived the best attempts
at salvage.
There must be thousands of children worldwide who owe their lives to this
achievement, even though few people know who deserves the credit.
Chris Barnard's other career
As a South African, it is touching for me to see a tribute to
Professor CN Barnard in the BMJ. Warts an' all, Barnard was a powerful
inspiration to many of my generation, being, as he was, primarily an
outstanding and versatile surgeon and physician. In fact, many believe
that the first human heart transplant was not the greatest of his
achievements - a moot point in view of what he accomplished in virtual
obscurity even before taking his place on the world's stage.
As a post-
graduate student in medicine in the mid-1950's, Barnard pioneered the use
of intrathecal antimicrobials for cerebro-spinal Tuberculosis in children
who were otherwise destined to a vegetative existence and drastically
reduced life expectancy. The regime developed by Barnard was readily
adopted by the WHO and must have saved (and improved the quality of) many
more lives than heart transplantation. Barnard later transferred to the
Department of Surgery at The University of Cape Town where he researched
and identified the vascular origin of congenital intestinal atresia by
successfully and meticulously reproducing the anomaly in canine foetuses.
Barnard's findings significantly improved the outcome of resectional
surgery in children who had previously, seldom survived the best attempts
at salvage.
There must be thousands of children worldwide who owe their lives to this
achievement, even though few people know who deserves the credit.
Competing interests: No competing interests