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William C. DeVries Papers

 Collection — Box: 19 - oversized separations
Identifier: MS C 588

Abstract

William Castle DeVries is the American heart surgeon who implanted the first total artificial heart (TAH) in a human patient in 1982. His collection of correspondence, medical records, x-rays, protocol and procedural documents, reports, scientific articles, manuscripts, publicity clippings, photographic images, and audiovisual materials mostly documents his professional career at the University of Utah Medical Center and the Humana Heart Institute International. The primary focus of this collection is on the experimental TAH procedures he performed during the 1980s, particularly the well-publicized implants in Barney Clark, William Schroeder, Murray Haydon, and Jack Burcham. The collection contains little material of a personal nature or from his life after leaving Humana.

Dates

  • 1946-2002

Extent

24.17 Linear Feet (22 boxes)

Creator

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Language of Materials

Collection materials primarily in English

Access Restrictions

Collection is restricted. Portions of the collection are restricted according to HMD's Access to Health Information of Individuals policy. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding access. For access to the policy and application form, please visit https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/manuscripts/phi.pdf.

Copyright and Re-use Information

Donor's copyrights were transferred to the public domain. Archival collections often contain mixed copyrights; while NLM is the owner of the physical items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. It is the user's responsibility to research and understand any applicable copyright and re-publication rights not allowed by fair use. NLM does not grant permissions to publish.

Privacy Information

Archives and manuscript collections may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in any collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications for which the National Library of Medicine assumes no responsibility.

Biographical Note

William Castle DeVries was born at the Brooklyn Naval Hospital in New York on December 19, 1943. His parents were Henry DeVries, a physician and lieutenant junior grade in the Naval Reserve during World War II, and Cathryn DeVries, a nurse. After his father was killed during the Battle of Hollandia in the Pacific Theater of Operations, William and his mother moved to Utah to be near family. His mother eventually married Don Nuttall and bore an additional eight children by him. The young DeVries was active in sports, excelled in his studies, and displayed an early interest in medicine and mechanics.

DeVries attended medical school at the University of Utah throughout the 1960s. He attempted to enlist in the military during the Cuban Missile Crisis but was ineligible because of his status as a "sole surviving son" and not needed due to an inpouring of Vietnam War draftees. Advised by an officer to continue his medical education, DeVries went on to earn his B.S. in Molecular and Genetic Biology (cum laude) in 1966 and his M.D. in 1970. Willem Kolff, a pioneer in the field of artificial organs, was an early mentor during this period; DeVries asked to join his research team while in his first year at medical school. DeVries's work with Kolff allowed him to perform experimental surgery on the first animal recipients of an artificial heart. After earning his medical degree, DeVries left Utah to perform his internship and surgical residency at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He was the recipient of several research awards from the North Carolina Heart Association for various cardiothoracic studies he performed at Duke University during the 1970s.

In 1979, DeVries returned to the University of Utah as an assistant professor of surgery and a member of Kolff's team; the following year he became Chairman of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University's Medical Center. At this point, DeVries began working with Robert K. Jarvik's design for a mechanical heart: the Jarvik-7, a device which replaced the ventricles of the human heart and was powered by an electrical unit outside the patient's body. A series of successful animal experiments led the Utah team to seek permission from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implant the Jarvik-7 in a human patient. When permission was granted, DeVries became the only surgeon in the world authorized to implant a total artificial heart (TAH) as a permanent replacement for a diseased human heart. The first patient to receive the TAH implant -- 62-year-old Barney Clark -- was chosen by the unanimous decision of a six-member review panel. On December 2, 1982, DeVries and his surgical team performed the first TAH implant in a human patient, a widely-publicized event which made DeVries an international celebrity. His patient experienced a series of medical complications following the procedure (including strokes) that were also the subject of considerable media attention. Clark's death of multiple organ failure 112 days after implantation and the many ethical and practical concerns raised by the public caused the FDA and the Utah team to reassess protocols for the TAH program.

Feeling that the intense scrutiny was slowing down his research, DeVries left the University of Utah in 1984 to accept a position with Humana Heart Institute International in Louisville, Kentucky. He joined the practice of Humana chairman and founder Allan Lansing and received permission from the FDA to perform his remaining TAH procedures at Humana Hospital-Audubon. On November 25, 1984, DeVries implanted his second Jarvik-7 artificial heart into 52-year-old William Schroeder. Like Clark, Schroeder was the subject of intense media coverage during his recovery from the implant and several subsequent complications, including fevers and strokes. Schroeder eventually died of a stroke on August 6, 1986, becoming the longest surviving recipient of an artificial heart. Before Schroeder's death, DeVries had performed implants on two additional patients: 58-year-old Murray Haydon, who died of an infection 488 days later, and 63-year-old Jack Burcham, who died of massive internal bleeding 10 days later. Humana's artificial heart program stalled just as the national debate over the merits of this experimental procedure grew more urgent. DeVries was called upon to voice his professional opinion on the ethics of using experimental devices on human patients and the publicity surrounding his procedures. By 1987, more Jarvik-7 hearts were being implanted by other surgeons outside of Humana; these implants were only bridges to transplantation as opposed to permanent replacements for diseased hearts.

Before long, DeVries grew frustrated with the TAH program's inertia and drained by the intense international attention directed at his research. His increasingly-strained relationship with Lansing resulted in DeVries leaving the practice in June 1987 to form his own private surgical practice. He began focusing on traditional cardiovascular surgery in order to work with more patients; consequently, he had little to do with artificial heart research after years of intense work in the field. In June 1988, DeVries formally resigned from his position at Humana to firmly establish his practice as a separate entity from the institute. Humana continued its support of the artificial heart program until the FDA withdrew its approval of the Jarvik-7 in 1990. Meanwhile, DeVries continued performing open-heart surgeries out of the public spotlight until he retired from private practice in 1999.

His retirement did not last long. Inspired by his father's service record and a golf game with the commander of the Army's recruiting command, in 2000 DeVries joined the Walter Reed Army Medical Center as a consultant to the Department of Surgery. He was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve on December 29, 2000; on January 18, 2002 -- at age 58 -- he became one of the oldest officers to graduate from the Army Medical Department Basic Officer course. He spent his first ten years in the Army Reserve serving as Academic Coordinator of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Service at Walter Reed and Chairman of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Since 2010, DeVries has served as the Director of Quality Assurance and Research within the Integrated Cardiothoracic Surgery Service of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Selected Awards
  • 1965 Alpha Epsilon Delta Premedical Honor Society, University of Utah
  • 1970 Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, University of Utah School of Medicine
  • 1970 Paul Wintrobe Memorial Award, University of Utah School of Medicine
  • 1981 Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Honor Society, University of Utah School of Medicine
  • 1983 Gold Heart Award, Utah Heart Association
  • 1983 Gold Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement
  • 1983 Utah Man of the Year Award, Utah Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews
  • 1984 Award for Scientific Achievement, Maimonides Research and Development Foundation
  • 1984 Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, University of Utah
  • 1985 Golden Key National Honor Society, University of Louisville Chapter
  • 1985 Honorary Doctor of Humanities, Weber State University
  • 1986 Honorary Doctor of Humanities, American University of the Caribbean
  • 1986 Honorary Doctor of Humanities, Kentucky Wesleyan College
  • 1986 Honorary Doctor of Science, Spalding University
  • 1988 Silver Good Citizenship Medal, National Society of Sons of the American Revolution
  • 1990 Outstanding Citizen of Utah, Utah Symphony
  • 1994 Kentuckian Award, A.B. "Happy" Chandler Foundation
  • 2005 Barton F. Haynes Society Lifetime Scholar

Selected Awards

1965
Alpha Epsilon Delta Premedical Honor Society, University of Utah
1970
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, University of Utah School of Medicine
1970
Paul Wintrobe Memorial Award, University of Utah School of Medicine
1981
Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Honor Society, University of Utah School of Medicine
1983
Gold Heart Award, Utah Heart Association
1983
Gold Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement
1983
Utah Man of the Year Award, Utah Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews
1984
Award for Scientific Achievement, Maimonides Research and Development Foundation
1984
Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, University of Utah
1985
Golden Key National Honor Society, University of Louisville Chapter
1985
Honorary Doctor of Humanities, Weber State University
1986
Honorary Doctor of Humanities, American University of the Caribbean
1986
Honorary Doctor of Humanities, Kentucky Wesleyan College
1986
Honorary Doctor of Science, Spalding University
1988
Silver Good Citizenship Medal, National Society of Sons of the American Revolution
1990
Outstanding Citizen of Utah, Utah Symphony
1994
Kentuckian Award, A.B. "Happy" Chandler Foundation
2005
Barton F. Haynes Society Lifetime Scholar

Collection Summary

Correspondence, medical records, x-rays, protocol and procedural documents, reports, scientific articles, manuscripts, publicity clippings, photographic images, and audiovisual materials (1946-2002; 24.17 linear feet) mostly documents William DeVries's professional career at the University of Utah Medical Center and the Humana Heart Institute International. The primary focus of this collection is on the experimental TAH procedures he performed during the 1980s, particularly the well-publicized implants in Barney Clark, William Schroeder, Murray Haydon, and Jack Burcham. The collection contains little material of a personal nature or from his life after leaving Humana.

Most of the records surrounding the historic operation on initial patient Barney Clark, the intense preparation (and paperwork) beforehand, and the controversy and review following the operation can be found in Series 3: University of Utah and Series 5: Kolff Medical/Symbion. Series 3 also includes the application to the FDA for approval of the operation, the protocols established (and re-established), patient records, and review board follow-up. Series 5 contains reports and analyses specifically on the Jarvik-7 artificial heart itself. In addition, actual footage of the operation can be found in Series 8: Photographic Images and Series 9: Audiovisual Materials. The reactions of the media and general public to the Clark procedure are documented in Series 2: Correspondence, Series 7: Media Coverage, and Series 9.

Materials on the Schroeder, Haydon, and Burcham operations themselves, including medical records and footage of the procedures, are mostly located in Series 4: Human Heart Institute International (HHII), Series 8, and Series 9. A great deal of the resultant follow-up, both in the media and the medical literature, can be found in Series 6: Cardiothoracic Writings, Series 7, and Series 9. It was after these operations that many of the published works from DeVries and his team at HHII appeared, mostly in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Series 6 also contains several of the lectures and speeches that DeVries gave around that time. Invitations to some of the professional events DeVries attended during this decade may be found in Series 2.

DeVries's international celebrity was at its peak during the 1980s, as evidenced by the fan mail in Series 2 and the numerous articles on his work in Series 7. He was asked to appear in a wide variety of television shows whose audiences ranged from fellow doctors to the general population. Series 9 contains a large sample of television programs in which DeVries either appeared or was discussed.

Personal materials constitute a small portion of the collection. Series 1: Personal and Biographical consists of one folder containing copies of his curriculum vitae and some biographical sketches. What little else there is can be found in Series 2 in the form of fan mail, personal correspondence, and awards as well as Series 9 in the form of recordings of some personal recognition, including his receipt of the Kentuckian Award in 1994 by the A.B. "Happy" Chandler Foundation.

Abstract

William Castle DeVries is the American heart surgeon who implanted the first total artificial heart (TAH) in a human patient in 1982. His collection of correspondence, medical records, x-rays, protocol and procedural documents, reports, scientific articles, manuscripts, publicity clippings, photographic images, and audiovisual materials mostly documents his professional career at the University of Utah Medical Center and the Humana Heart Institute International. The primary focus of this collection is on the experimental TAH procedures he performed during the 1980s, particularly the well-publicized implants in Barney Clark, William Schroeder, Murray Haydon, and Jack Burcham. The collection contains little material of a personal nature or from his life after leaving Humana.

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Provenance

Gift, William DeVries. Accession #2010-020 and #2010-032.

General

Processed by
Erica Haakensen and Gregory Pike
Encoded by
Erica Haakensen
Title
Finding Aid to the William C. DeVries Papers, 1946-2002
Status
Unverified Partial Draft
Author
Erica Haakensen and Gregory Pike
Date
Sept. 2011
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English
Edition statement
1.0

Collecting Area Details

Part of the Archives and Modern Manuscripts Collection Collecting Area

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