The history of cardiac surgery is filled with tales of intrepid surgeons with larger-than-life personalities who pushed the limits of the human body and the bounds of what were then considered acceptable medical practices. The result? Heart transplants, pacemakers, artificial heart valves, heart-lung machines, and other once-unthinkable and experimental procedures that have now saved millions of lives. 

Our guest in this episode, Gerald Imber, MD, charts these remarkable developments in his 2024 book Cardiac Cowboys: The Heroic Invention of Heart Surgery. While not writing books on the history of medicine, Dr. Imber is a practicing plastic surgeon who specializes in cosmetic surgery. Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Imber talks about the challenging yet rewarding training he underwent as a surgery resident, what it means to have an “eye for aesthetics,” why he decided to write a book on the history of heart surgery, stories of daring surgeons from this history, how he reconciles the drive to push the frontiers of medicine with a regard for patient safety, and more.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

2:15 - What drew Dr. Imber to a career in surgery 

7:55 - Dr. Imber’s grueling experiences as a general surgery resident

11:52 - Dr. Imber’s transition into plastic surgery and the aesthetic sensibilities necessary for this speciality 

22:46 - What Dr. Imber’s current plastic surgery practice looks like 

24:28 - How Dr. Imber finds fulfillment and meaning in his work 

25:21 - What motivated Dr. Imber to write Cardiac Cowboys, a book about the history of open heart surgery 

30:47 - Balancing risks to patient lives with medical and surgical experimentation

34:25 - A brief history of open heart surgery

40:02 - Key milestones in the development of open heart surgery 

45:24 - What Dr. Imber hopes readers take away from Cardiac Cowboys 

Dr. Gerald Imber is the author of Cardiac Cowboys: The Heroic Invention of Heart Surgery (2024) and Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted (2010).

Dr. Imber can be found on Instagram at @geraldimbermd.

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