This video history
of interventional cardiology presents the story of
angioplasty: from its first use in the peripheral vessels
by Charles Dotter in 1964, through skepticism and rejection
in the U.S., its rebirth in Europe at the hands of
Eberhart Zeitler and others, and its ultimate refinement
for use in the coronary arteries by Andreas Gruentzig
in 1977.
The video offers a documentary
record of a compelling and sometimes eccentric tale
of personal vision and scientific innovation.
Not long ago, the concept of placing
a catheter down the coronary artery was considered
madness by most.
Observers and participants
share their accounts of a time when the first angioplasty
balloon catheters were manufactured by hand on a kitchen
table in Zurich by "the group of four": Andreas
Gruentzig, his assistant and their spouses.
Maria Schlumpf,
in Zurich Kitchen (1975)
You will glimpse the fear,
excitement and triumph of the first PTCA, as told by
the people who were in the room, including the first
patient himself, Mr. Adolph Bachmann.
Finally the film
tells of the building momentum and careful efforts
to develop, shepherd and protect the integrity of this
breakthrough technology, and explores the implications
of this history in today's highly competitive healthcare
climate.
PTCA: A HISTORY runs
72 minutes and combines personal photos, rare films
and over two dozen interviews. Uniquely constructed,
there is no narrator "telling the viewer what happened":
the history is told entirely in first person accounts
by the participants themselves!
The following individuals appear
in "PTCA: A History": John Abele, David Auth, Adolph Bachmann, Joe Brown, Heliane Canepa, William Casarella
MD, Andreas R. Gruentzig MD, Geoffrey O. Hartzler
MD, J. Willis Hurst MD, Spencer B. King III MD, Martin
B. Leon MD, Bruno Lorenzetti, Bernhard Meier MD,
Richard K. Myler MD, Manfred Robinson, Enid Ruble,
Richard Schatz MD, Maria Schlumpf, Patrick W. Serruys
MD, C. Richard Stueve RT, Paul Yock MD, Eberhard
Zeitler MD.
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