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HISTORICAL PROFILES
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BLACK HISTORY MONTH PROFILE CONT'D...
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Blalock became Chief of Surgery at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, insisting that Thomas be hired by his team.
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They worked together on treatments for high blood pressure, traumatic shock, and in the 1940s, Thomas led the team which developed a surgical treatment for "blue baby syndrome."
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Despite the racism barriers, Blalock and Thomas worked as partners in conducting pioneering research in heart surgery.
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This work was essential to furthering the development of open heart surgery, building on the surgical foundations laid by
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, the African American surgeon who first performed open heart surgery.
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