A Pioneer; Melvin Judkins

Melvin Judkins (1922-1978) was a physician known for the development of pre-shaped catheters for the catheterisation of coronary arteries.  He received his M.D. from the College of Medical Evangelists.  Upon graduation he spent a year at Loma Linda Hospital.  He was then  commissioned by the Army during WWII and served in the 28th General Hospital in Osaka, Japan.

Judkins at the age of 40 studied radiology at the University of Oregon under Dr. Charles Dotter known today as the father of interventional radiology.  He continued his studies at the Cleveland Clinic under Dr. Mason Sones who pioneered coronary angiography.  Later he studied in Sweden under Dr. Sven Seldinger.  It was in Sweden he developed the pre-shaped catheters that could be introduced in the aorta without a need of a cut of the brachial artery.  He brought these new techniques back to the University of Oregon in 1966.  Upon his return he further developed the Judkins' catheter.  He published his technique in Radiology in 1967 and by 1968, his pre-shaped catheters were commercially produced.

In 1969, he became the Chairman of Radiology at Loma Linda and also the director of the cardiovascular laboratories from 1970-1978, during which time his lab was frequented by physicians from all over the world.  Judkins retired in 1978 after suffering a stroke.

I dedicate this post to my cardiologist in Greece Dr. Kostis Tsaparlis who graduated from the University of Athens Medical School.  He returned home after post-graduate studies in England. Because of his knowledge in Cardiology and because he is a caring man those of us who are his patients are truly fortunate. 

A Pionner; F. Mason Sones, Jr

Mason Sones (1918-1985) was an American physician whose pioneering work in cardiac catheterization was instrumental in the development of coronary angiography based on which coronary bypass surgery was later developed.

Sones received his M.D. from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1943.  From 1944 to 1946, he served in the US Air Corp in the Pacific.  Sones did his residency at Henry Ford Hospital and later joined the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in 1950.

On October 30, 1958 while he was performing an angiogram of the ascending aorta the catheter inadvertently slipped in the right coronary artery.  Although it was attempted, the catheter was not withdrawn, thus a large amount of contrast was injected into the artery.  The patient's heart went into asystole but when the patient coughed as instructed the heart started beating again.

From this experience, Sones realized that smaller amounts of contrast media could safely injected in the coronary arteries an invention that resulted in a diagnostic method that revolutionized cardiology.  With the advent of coronary angiography, cardiologists for the first time, could accurately map stenoses or occlusions in the coronary circulation.  In 1967 a cardiac surgeon, Rene Favaloro, performed the first coronary bypass at the Cleveland Clinic.  it was Favaloro who called Sones "the most important contributor to modern cardiology."

Sones received numerous awards during his career.  He was one of the founders of the Society of Cardiac Angiography (now known as the Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions) and served as the first President of the new society. 

This post is dedicated to Dr. Harisios Boudoulas a cardiologist who established the division of non-invasive cardiology at the Ohio State Medial Center.  Dr.Boudoulas pioneered the study of diseases of the heart and the aorta. Professor Boudoulas was the Distinguished Research Investigator Division of the Academy of Athens.