Vivien Thomas, African-American surgical technician who developed the procedures used to treat blue baby syndrome in the 1940s. Thomas was also offered the position of Chief of Surgery at his alma mater, Johns Hopkins in 1941. #blackdoctor #surgeon #medicine #johnshopkins #positiveblackimages #inspiration #motivation #strength #education #blackhistory #blackpower #vivienthomas #bluebabysyndrome https://www.instagram.com/p/Bti0CAbBrCG/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=14q4ytqpfr92x

#VivienThomas was the inventor of the surgical procedures for treating blue baby syndrome despite having only a high school education. He even had to develop the tools since there were no specialized tools for cardiac surgery at the time. Unfortunately, it was a long time before his work was acknowledged and the credit for his procedure was given to #AlfredBlalock instead. Eventually he was recognized by #JohnHopkins and given an honorary doctorate. I'm using #QoRwatercolors for the first time here, and they are great! • • • • • #blackhistorymonth #surgery #surgeon #watercolor #qor #medical #illustration #watercolorportrait #art #painting #history #medicalhistory

#Repost @mediaoutrage1 with @repostapp ・・・ @Regrann from @theblaquelioness - "There is a reason that many of us have never heard of the incredible #VivienThomas, despite the fact that he invented a surgical technique that allowed for the first successful open heart surgeries on children. Even though he is now credited with saving thousands of children’s lives, his is not a household name. After the first operations were performed using Thomas’ technique in 1944, the procedure made national news, yet Thomas was never mentioned. The technique itself was named after the two doctors Thomas worked for, both of whom were nominated for the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine because of “their” technique. Why? Because Vivien Thomas was black, at a time when blacks and whites used separate drinking fountains, when blacks had trouble finding housing in “nice” neighborhoods, when blacks were barred from entering all-white medical schools, and when blacks could not operate on white babies, even to save their lives. When Thomas’ life-saving technique was first used in 1944, Thomas was not allowed to perform the surgery himself, but the surgeon could not do it without Thomas’ help. Thomas had to stand on a chair behind the surgeon, giving instructions (and at one point stopping the surgeon from making a suture in the wrong direction). Thomas’ contributions were not recognized until 1971, when his portrait was displayed at John Hopkins University. The university awarded him an honorary doctorate degree 5 years later and appointed him to the faculty. Many of the country’s top surgeons trained under Thomas and credit him with their success." #theblaquelioness - #regrann #Mediaoutrage