His master’s art, Andreas Grüntzig’s approach to performing and teaching coronary angioplasty

Performing coronary angioplasty

Andreas Roland Grüntzig (1939-1985) was an accomplished clinician and an astute scientist. He was also a practical man endowed with dexterity, smartness, and common sense. For him, performing a catheter intervention in contrast to surgery was like playing the clarinet in contrast to playing the piano. It was easier but it still required talent and proper training to become a professional. Playing the piano means using all ten fingers at the same time and having 88 keys to choose from for every single finger, not to mention the simultaneous work on the foot pedals. A ...