Kiwi heart of cardiac medicine to go on display

A leading Auckland heart surgeon and the patient he saved the life of four times will launch a pop-up cardiovascular medicine exhibition next week.

Retired cardiac surgeon Dr Alan Kerr will speak at the launch of Brave Hearts, a mobile pop-up exhibition at MOTAT. It will celebrate the innovative and pioneering advances in cardiac medicine from the 1950s onwards.

Dr Kerr will be joined at the event by rheumatic fever survivor Ta’afuli Andrew Fiu, who has undergone six open heart surgeries throughout his life.

The pair will talk about the importance of cardiovascular treatment and its impact on the lives of thousands of New Zealanders.

During his career at Greenlane Hospital, Dr Kerr performed a wide range of cardiac, vascular and thoracic operations on adults and children, including more than 2,500 coronary artery surgeries, and has helped put together the Brave Hearts exhibition.

It is intended to tell little known stories of how Kiwi doctors led medical innovations that helped transform the way heart disease was treated around the world.

“The exhibition will commemorate the achievements of health professionals in the 1950s and 1960s in particular who were extremely innovative, and a leading group in cardiac surgery,” said Dr Kerr.

“In New Zealand we were way ahead of many other countries such as the UK when it came to what was happening here, and many patients even came from overseas to be treated.”

Pioneers in the field, including Sir Douglas Robb and Sir Brian Barratt-Boyes, helped put New Zealand on the map for cardiac surgery.

Ground-breaking techniques, including the successful transplant of a human heart valve in 1962, made the country one of the leading centres in the world for cardiac medicine.

One of the recipients of the expert care available, Mr Fiu, will tell his story of spending a total of four years in hospital from 1979 onwards, and undergoing six open heart surgeries following a childhood bout of rheumatic fever.

Mr Fiu has medically died twice, and credits Dr Kerr with saving his life four times.

Ta'afuli Andrew Fiu will share his story of how rheumatic fever led to years in hospital and multiple cardiac surgeries throughout his childhood. Photo: Supplied

He has since written a book about his experiences, Purple Heart, an NCEA text read by schoolchildren throughout New Zealand.

“People are often surprised I’m not wheeling an oxygen bottle behind me or that I’m not accompanied by a paramedic, but you can actually have a really cool life despite six open heart surgeries,” said Mr Fiu.

He hopes the exhibition will highlight the importance of understanding the heart, and help illustrate the dangers of diseases such as rheumatic fever, which is still a serious problem in New Zealand.

“I’d love this exhibition to go out to every region and schools to all go, to show kids that heart surgery can be devastating and is so complicated, and they can go home and start that conversation with their parents to make them aware of the dangers.”

The achievements in cardiac medicine will be explained and illustrated in an interactive, multi-sensory exhibition housed in modified shipping containers.

Brave Hearts will be based at Auckland’s MOTAT from the end of this year, and is being put together by the Auckland Medical Museum Trust (AMMT).

As a charitable trust, the AMMT hope to secure further funding for the exhibition at the official launch. The event will be held at AUT in the Sir Paul Reeves building on July 5.

For more information or to attend the event, contact the organiser, Margaret Horsburgh, by email.