Discovering a Surgical First: Russell M. Nelson and Tricuspid Valve Annuloplasty

Authors

Austin A. Robinson, Yale University
Curtis T. Hunter, UCLA

Keywords

Mormon studies, Russell M. Nelson, tricuspid valve annuloplasty, surgery

Abstract

In an April 2003 general conference address, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recounted an experience of receiving sudden inspiration on how to perform surgery during his medical career. The epiphanic image that came to the young surgeon in 1960 led to the repair of a previously inoperable valve defect in the heart of E. L., a Latter-day Saint stake patriarch. As a novel surgical approach, the case is remarkable. However, Nelson did not publish a report of the experience in the medical literature at the time, and, as a result, its place in surgical history of the twentieth century has not been fully described. The primary purposes of this article are to: (1) document the circumstances surrounding that operation, (2) describe in detail the operative technique, and (3) place the surgery in its proper medical and historical context.

Recommended Citation

Robinson, Austin A. and Hunter, Curtis T. (2015) "Discovering a Surgical First: Russell M. Nelson and Tricuspid Valve Annuloplasty," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 54: Iss. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol54/iss1/3