Peter Allen (December 13, 1921 – November 17, 2014) was a Canadian surgeon who played a leading role in improving cardiac surgery techniques. Along with Dr. Philip Ashmore, Dr. W.G. (Bill) Trapp and Dr. Ross Robertson, he performed the first

Open Heart Surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

on 29 October 1957 at

Vancouver General Hospital Vancouver General Hospital (locally known as VGH, or Vancouver General) is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the largest facility in the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre (VHHSC) group of medical facilit ...

, by closing an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) in 9 year old John Evans, using Cardiopulmonary Bypass (CPB).The Surgical Times, University of British Columbia, Department of Surgery http://www.surgery.ubc.ca/files/times/TimesW07.pdf

Background

Allen grew up in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. In 1946, he obtained an MD from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

. In 1953, he received a Fellowship in

general surgery General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the t ...

from the

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (french: Collège royal des médecins et chirurgiens du Canada) is a regulatory college which acts as a national, nonprofit organization established in 1929 by a special Act of Parliament to o ...

and, in 1964, a Fellowship in

thoracic surgery Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thoracic cavity — generally treatment of conditions of the heart (heart disease), lungs (lung disease), and other pleural or mediastinal stru ...

from the same institution. His post graduate training included one year of internal medicine at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other bein ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

followed by years at the

in the general surgery program at the Hospital for Sick Children and the

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospit ...

. Returning to Vancouver, between early 1954 to mid-1956, he developed a practice in general surgery. During that period he held a research position at the British Columbia Research Institute under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Evelyn. The project tested the feasibility of replacing a diseased

abdominal aorta In human anatomy, the abdominal aorta is the largest artery in the abdominal cavity. As part of the aorta, it is a direct continuation of the descending aorta (of the thorax). Structure The abdominal aorta begins at the level of the diaphragm ...

with a mesh supported

vena cava In anatomy, the venae cavae (; singular: vena cava ; ) are two large veins (great vessels) that return deoxygenated blood from the body into the heart. In humans they are the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava, and both empty into the ...

autograft In mid 1956 he began a year of training in

Cardiac surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to ...

with C. Walton Lillehei, the originator of

Open-heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to co ...

, at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

. In early 1957, he participated in the operation where the world's first artificial cardiac pacemaker was employed by Lillehei.

Career

In mid 1957 Allen returned to Vancouver and formed a cardiac team with surgeon, Philip Ashmore, anaesthetist William Dodds and paediatrician Morris Young. On October 29, 1957, at the Vancouver General Hospital, the team successfully performed the first open heart operation in British Columbia. He also performed the first Coronary Artery Bypass Graft surgery in Cardiff, Wales In 1977 to 1980 Allen was invited to establish a cardiac surgical certre at the

Kasturba General Hospital Kasturbai Mohandas Gandhi (, born Kasturbai Gokuldas Kapadia; 11 April 1869 – 22 February 1944) was an Indian political activist. She married Mohandas Gandhi, more commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi, in 1883. With her husband and her eldest so ...

, Bhopal, India. The Indian surgeon, Dr. Raj Bisaryia, who had trained in Vancouver continued the program between Dr. Allen's visits. In 1987 and 1989 Allen was the visiting cardiac surgeon at the Ibn-al;Bitar Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. The hospital was built and staffed by the Irish construction company, PARC. The doctors, nurses and technicians were Irish, the only Iraqis were the patients and interpreters. Many patients lived in remote areas with minimal access to medical care. Consequently, most of the cardiac valve replacements used bioprosthetic {porcine tissue ]that required no anticoagulant therapy post operative, compared to the mechanical artificial valve that did require anticoagulants. 1990 to 1999 Allen was a chairman of medical review panels of the British Columbia Worker's Compensation Board; he chaired 275 Panels. From 1972 to 1988 he established the annual Peter Allen Surgical Essay Award, open to senior cardio-thoracic trainees in the United Kingdom. In 1993, after 36 years of surgical practice, he retired as an Emeritus Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine. In 1995 he moved to

Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton. At its 2021 census population of 213,759, it is Ontario's largest town. Oakville is part of the Greater Toronto Area, one of t ...

and joined the Medical Clinic of Dr. Sapra and Dr. Khanna as a consultant in peripheral vascular disease, until retirement in 2006. He died on November 17, 2014.

Honours and awards

1956 - Annual research prize of the British Columbia Surgical Society for work on the diseased abdominal aorta. 1957 - McLaughlin Fellowship to study cardiac surgery under Dr. Lillehei in Minneapolis. 1964 - Nuffield Travelling Fellowship to further study cardiac surgery at the Brompton Hospital in London and the Sulley Chest Hospital in Cardiff, Wales. 1972 - Invitation to address the Society of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland. 1978 - Vancouver Medical Association annual Osler Address. 1980 - Invitation to join the Pete's Club composed of United Kingdom and Western European cardiac surgeons. The meetings were unique in that only surgical failures and problem cases were discussed. He held the final meeting of the Pete's Club at the Vancouver General Hospital in 1989. 1998–present Member, Board of Directors, Ian Anderson House, Cancer Hospice, Oakville, ON 2011–present Joined the Grants Committee of the Oakville Community Foundation, a philanthropic group, Oakville, ON.

References

*The Scarlet Pimpernel in Artificial Heart Valves - Peter Allen, M.D., British Columbia Medical Journal 31;7, Page 395 (1989) *Open Cardiac Surgery in British Columbia - Peter Allen M.D., British Columbia Medical Journal 25:9, Page 444 (1983) *Universal Cardiac Valve Holder - J.S. Masterson M.D.; Robert Miyigashima, M.D.; Peter Allen M.D., Annals of Thoracic Surgery 23, Page 376 (1977
Click to view link
*Strut Fracture and Disc Embolization of a Björk-Shiley Mitral Valve Prosthesis: Localization of Embolized Disc by Computerized Axial Tomography - Alberto J. Larrieu, M.D., Eduardo Puglia, M.D., Peter Allen, M.D. - Annals of Thoriacic Surgery 34:2, Page 192 (1982
Click to view link
*Spontaneous Massive Haemothorax in von Recklinghausen's Disease - A.J. Larrieu M.D., S.A, Hashimoto M.D., Peter Allen, M.D. - Thorax 37, Page 151 (1982) *Results of Demand Pacing in Cardiac Arrhythmias - Peter Allen M.D., Eve Rotem M.D. - Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 8:2, Page 146 (1969) *Use of Induced Cardiac Arrest in Open Heart Surgery - Peter Allen M.D., C Walton Lillehei M.D. - Minnesota Medicine 40, Page 672 (1957) *The Possibility of Myocardial Revascularization by Creation of a Left Ventriculocoronary Artery Fistula - Ian Munro M.D. Peter Allen M.D. - Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 5 8:1, Page 25 (1969) *The Cutting Edge by Frank Porter Patterson MD, Chapter 5 page 128 *J.C. Boileau Grant by Clayton L.N. Robinson MD, Page 11 *The Key To The Door - A Cardiac Surgery Anthology by C. Walton Lillehei, Page 187 *1957 to 1982 Open Cardiac Surgery in British Columbia" - In the British Columbia Medical Journal, Vol 25 #9, page 444 - September 1983. *"Surgical Management of Post Infarction Ventricular Septal Defects". In the Journal of Thoracic and Cardio Vascular Surgery #51 page 346 (1966). *"How a Lack of so Little Killed so Many" - In the News of the British Columbia Medical Association page 14, October to November 1991 *VGN Nursing School Alumnae

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Peter 1921 births 2014 deaths Physicians from Philadelphia University of Amsterdam alumni University of Toronto alumni Canadian cardiac surgeons People from Vancouver Canadian expatriates in the Netherlands American emigrants to Canada Canadian expatriates in Iraq