Heimlich's Maneuvers

  Published 2014 by Prometheus Books

  Heimlich’s Maneuvers: My Seventy Years of Lifesaving Innovation. Copyright © 2014 by Henry J. Heimlich, MD. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a website without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Prometheus Books recognizes the following trademarks and registered trademarks mentioned within the text: Barbasol®; Chevrolet®; Emmy® Award; Ford®; Model T™; Novocain™; Rockettes®; Smith Corona®.

  HEIMLICH MANEUVER® is a registered trademark of the Heimlich Institute, Inc.

  Every attempt has been made to trace accurate ownership of copyrighted material in this book. Errors and omissions will be corrected in subsequent editions, provided that notification is sent to the publisher.

  Cover image © John Johnston, www.johnjohnston.com

  Cover design by Liz Scinta

  Unless otherwise noted, all images are from the author’s personal collection.

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  The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

  Heimlich, Henry J., author.

  Heimlich’s maneuvers : my seventy years of lifesaving innovation / by Henry J. Heimlich.

  p. ; cm.

  ISBN 978-1-61614-849-2 (pbk.)

  ISBN 978-1-61614-850-8 (ebook)

  I. Title.

  [DNLM: 1. Heimlich, Henry J. 2. Physicians—Autobiography. 3. Heimlich Maneuver—history. WZ 100]

  RD27.35.H44

  617.092--dc23

  [B]

  2013036223

  Printed in the United States of America

  To my late wife, Jane, and my sister, Cecilia Rosenthal

  FOREWORD by Guy Carpico

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  CHAPTER 1: Heeeeere’s Heimlich!

  My First Save

  CHAPTER 2: My Beginnings

  An Early Innovation

  CHAPTER 3: The Depression, Anti-Semitism, and Visits to Sing Sing Prison

  Anti-Semitism

  Prison Time

  CHAPTER 4: Medical-School Challenges and a Strange Internship

  Challenges of Entering Medical School

  A Medical-School Student

  Joining the Navy

  A Medical Intern

  CHAPTER 5: En Route to China

  Leaving America

  I Am a Mule for the US Navy

  My Mission Disclosed

  Arrival in China

  CHAPTER 6: A Health Clinic in the Gobi Desert

  Setting Up a Medical Clinic

  General Fu Tso Yi

  An Innovation in te Desert

  A Patient Dies

  Transporting a Killer

  CHAPTER 7: A Medical Newbie Searches for a Surgical Residency

  A Real Education

  CHAPTER 8: Saving a Life and Finding Love

  Jane

  A Proposal of Marriage

  CHAPTER 9: Restoring the Ability to Swallow: The Reversed Gastric Tube Operation

  Treating Patients Who Could Not Swallow

  Creating a New Esophagus from the Stomach

  Success in the Laboratory

  Patients Benefit from the Reversed Gastric Tube Operation

  An Infant Undergoes the Procedure

  CHAPTER 10: Performing the Reversed Gastric Tube Operation behind the Iron Curtain

  Off to Romania

  Secrecy and a Communist Government

  CHAPTER 11: A Promise to a Dead Soldier Kept: The Heimlich Chest Drain Valve

  The Answer: A Valve

  A Patient Receives the Chest Drain Valve

  The Military Takes Notice

  CHAPTER 12: A Boy Named Hayani

  A Disastrous Drink

  Hayani Arrives in Cincinnati

  I Operate on Hayani

  Still Unable to Swallow

  Relearning How to Speak

  A Visit to Morocco

  CHAPTER 13: Saving the Lives of Choking Victims: The Heimlich Maneuver

  Choking: A Serious Problem

  A Successful Experiment

  Using Air in the Lungs to Push out an Object

  Getting the Word Out

  The First Save

  When the Choking Victim Is Alone

  My Procedure Gets a Name

  The Maneuver Goes Mainstream

  CHAPTER 14: The American Red Cross and Back Blows

  Teaching a Potentially Dangerous Method

  Weak Evidence

  Red Cross Teachings Are Exposed

  Abandoning Back Slaps

  The Return of Back Slaps

  CHAPTER 15: The Gift of Breath: The Heimlich MicroTrach

  The Struggle to Breathe

  A Tiny, Simple Device

  A New Lease on Life

  Hidden from View and Cheaper

  The Need for Patient Access

  CHAPTER 16: Making the Most of Good Ideas

  Using the Heimlich Maneuver for Drowning

  Using the Heimlich Maneuver for Asthma

  Teaching Patients How to Swallow

  Treating HIV and AIDS with Malariotherapy

  CHAPTER 17: Working toward a Caring World

  Returning to China

  Signs of Peace

  A Rewarding Relationship with My Father

  Allowing Children to Be Superheroes

  A Caring World on a Global Scale

  MORE ABOUT HEIMLICH HEROES

  NOTES

  INDEX

  What can you say about a man who is innovative, talented, and caring? I would say he sounds like my doctor, Dr. Henry J. Heimlich.

  In 1965, I was born with a condition called tracheoesophageal fistula, a rare birth defect that interfered with my ability to swallow and breathe normally. My condition caused serious problems. I aspirated my saliva, which could have led to pneumonia or death. I would not have been able to eat without regurgitating my food.

  There was only one man who had a vision to help me: Dr. Henry J. Heimlich. I do believe God was watching over me when this man came into my life. He came up with a surgical procedure that saved my life as well as many other infants in years to come. I have the honor of having been the youngest child to have this surgery. I underwent a total of thirteen operations and was “trached” for the first five years of my life.

  After that, I had a normal childhood and experienced relatively few problems. I played baseball and football in high school. At the age of eighteen, I began a career in emergency medical services, and at the age of twenty-two, I was certified as a paramedic. I have teaching credentials with the American Heart Association in advanced cardiac life support, pediatric advanced life support, and CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

  At the age of forty-eight, I am still a paramedic and an emergency medical services instructor. It is because of Dr. Heimlich’s dedication to helping others that I went in the medical profession. Whenever I teach the Heimlich Maneuver to my students, I tell them about the man who saved my life.

  Today, I live a full life. I am happily married with five children. Ever since I was released from the hospital after undergoing Dr. Heimlich’s procedure at the age of nine months, I have stayed in touch with him. I call him from time to time to let him kno
w how I am doing, and he always responds warmly. I cannot tell you how much I love this man.

  Dr. Heimlich, I will always be grateful for your gift of life.

  Your patient and friend,

  Guy Carpico

  There are two subjects concerning medical ethics that I would like to clarify with readers.

  First, in experimenting with medical innovation, sometimes a doctor must try out an idea on patients to see if what has shown to work in a laboratory environment also works in everyday life. There have been some individuals who were the first to be treated with my procedures—procedures that had not been widely adopted yet. Every patient who has ever been involved with my research or who has undergone an experimental surgical procedure under my care had full knowledge of any risk involved and granted permission to participate.

  Second, some of the experiments I conducted many years ago involved dogs. At that time, the issue of animal rights had not been fully recognized by the medical community yet. Part of the reason was that we did not have access to computer technology and modeling that today provide answers to medical questions and, therefore, eliminate the need for animal testing. I want to make clear that I strongly believe in protecting the health and safety of animals, not just in medical research but in all areas of life. If I were to conduct a medical experiment today, I would look only to solutions that do not involve animal research.

  Sincerely,

  Henry J. Heimlich, MD

  I wish to thank numerous people who have helped make this book possible.

  I appreciate the staffs from the Henry J. Heimlich Archival Collection, the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions, the University of Cincinnati Libraries, and the Cincinnati Public Library Information and Reference and History Departments for the expertise and proficiency exhibited researching many facets of the book.

  I thank Vicki Roberts, my very capable administrative assistant, with whom I completed the first manuscript. My thanks also go to the talented writer Andrea Sattinger for her contributions.

  I wish to thank Ricardo O. Ang II for his artistic skill as the photographer of my author photo and Lori Elizabeth Donnelly for her help researching and providing citations.

  I wish to express my gratitude to my publicist, Melinda Zemper, who has supported me in so many ways with her intelligence and encouragement.

  Dear thanks go to Karen Carmichael and Terri Lusane for helping me keep my life in order.

  And thank you to my children, Elisabeth, Philip, and Janet, for their love and dedication. Elisabeth is the archivist of family photos; Philip handled legal aspects; and Janet, a published author, was so helpful with her expertise as an editor.

  A number of years ago, I turned on Comedy Central and got a jolt. It was a rerun of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and I was sitting on the guest couch, talking with Johnny. This was back in 1979, at the height of my fame as the inventor of the Heimlich Maneuver. I was surprised to see myself on national television, but the fact is, the maneuver I had created to save the lives of choking victims had proven so effective that it had made me a celebrity.

  Figure 1.1. Johnny and me: It was a thrill to appear on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1979. (Photograph by Gene Arias/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images.)

  Before the episode starts, the Comedy Central announcer introduces it by saying, “Dr. Henry Heimlich, originator of the Heimlich Maneuver, is more than a lifesaver; he is a very funny man.”

  Then Johnny and I are shown seated onstage. “Would you like to demonstrate the maneuver on a doll,” asks Johnny, gesturing offstage, “or on a human?”

  I answer, jokingly, “I can perform it on a human . . . or on you, Johnny.” His response is to hold up a finger and say, “That’s one, Doctor.” Much laughter from the audience.

  I then describe to Johnny the symptoms of choking: the person cannot breathe or talk but can signal he is choking by placing a hand to his throat. Johnny gets in front of me, makes wild motions with his head, and points to his throat.

  “Johnny,” I say, “this is the first time you’ve been silent on the show.” More laughter from the audience as Johnny holds up two fingers and says, “That’s two.”

  Johnny then calls over the lovely Angie Dickinson and demonstrates the maneuver on her. She turns and kisses him on the lips.

  I said, “I discover the maneuver and he gets the kiss!” Big laughs. Johnny holds up three fingers.

  I then demonstrate how to do the maneuver on oneself by leaning over the back of a chair. I explain that I learned this from people who wrote me about having saved their own lives. “Of course they saved themselves,” Johnny says, “or they couldn’t have written about it.”

  I am confused for a moment and then hold up a finger and say, “That’s one, Johnny.” It brings down the house.

  “Dr. Heimlich and I are appearing at the Comedy Store next week,” Johnny tells his audience.

  Seeing myself on national television is a very strange experience.

  I ask myself, “How in the world did I, a physician, wind up on Johnny Carson?” How is it that I invented a lifesaving method that led to my becoming so well known? In my younger years, I never dreamed that my name would become a household word, and it was the last thing my wife wanted, a woman who had grown up with famous parents.

  I think it started with a basic aspect of my personality: I have always been driven to find creative ways to solve problems; the simpler the solution, the better. I have seen medical problems and sought creative ways to fix them. If something makes sense, I say, do it. I have attacked the problem of saving lives as a creative entrepreneur, you could say, not as a company man or a guy stuck working in the laboratory day in and day out.

  I enjoy the challenge of discovering creative and logical solutions to medical problems, not only in coming up with such solutions as the Heimlich Maneuver but also many others. In fact, I have invented a number of surgical procedures and medical devices that have saved, and continue to save, hundreds of thousands of lives every year.

  But what makes the Heimlich Maneuver particularly special is this: while most of my other ideas were put into use by medical professionals, the maneuver is accessible to everyone. Because of its simplicity—and the fact that it works when performed correctly—just about anyone can save a life. People can save the life of a stranger, a neighbor, a spouse, or a child. And it can happen anywhere—in restaurants, homes, ballparks—you name it.

  You see, you don’t have to be a doctor to save a life. You just have to have knowledge and the instincts to respond in a crisis. I suppose I became famous because my name was associated with the maneuver, but what really got the idea going was the fact that it put in people’s hands the ability to help others. It has enabled individuals to recognize that a crisis is at hand, to realize that they have the know-how to save a life, and then to act on that knowledge. And that’s a very powerful thing.

  I know this to be true because I myself saved a life as a “civilian,” you could say, well before I became a physician. In fact, I hadn’t even begun medical school. The incident happened when I was twenty-one years old and working a summer job as a camp counselor.

  MY FIRST SAVE

  It was late morning on August 28, 1941, and I was riding a train from Lee, Massachusetts, to New York City. I had been teaching sailing to children at Camp Mah-Kee-Nac, and now 254 campers, staff members, and I were on our way home after a great summer vacation.

  Figure 1.2. Camp counselor at age twenty-one: In 1941, I taught children sailing at Camp Mah-Kee-Nac in Massachusetts.

  All was well as we sped up to Hatch Pond in northwestern Connecticut. Many of the kids were enjoying their lunches. They were singing and laughing, excited to be on their way home. Suddenly, the train ground to a halt and everyone went flying forward. A quick assessment told me that the campers were shaken up, but no one appeared to be injured. We were in the rear of the train. I ran into the next forward car and knew som
ething had gone severely wrong. This car was tilted, and strangely so. But again, everyone seemed okay.

  I jumped out of the train and could not believe what I saw. The four cars ahead were completely off the tracks. The locomotive’s engine had been ripped off and was sitting in the pond. (Later, I learned that two engineers had died, trapped in the cab of the submerged engine.) One of the last two cars, where the children and I had been sitting, remained largely undisturbed.

  I ran forward, making my way around the disjointed cars. Then something caught my eye. At the base of the second car, I saw a man struggling frantically in four or five feet of water, his head submerged. I jumped in the cold, murky water and swam over to him. I lifted his shoulders to raise up his head. The man coughed and spat out water. His face was blackened with coal dust, and he was crying.

  I tried to move him, but it was no use—his right leg was caught in the dirt under the steps of the train car. I could think of nothing more to do than hold the man’s head above the water and hope that help would arrive soon.

  The man was in tremendous pain, so I tried to engage him in conversation to take his mind off it. He told me his name was Otto Klug, and he was a fireman on the train, the crewperson who shovels the coal that runs the engine. He had leapt from the engine to avoid injury before becoming pinned under the water. To give him some kind of relief, I used the pond water to clean his soot-covered face.

  When Mr. Klug found out I was about to be a medical student, he started asking me questions about his condition.

  “Am I okay?” he asked fearfully. “Am I going to live?”

  “I’m sure you’ll be fine,” I said.

  “Am I going to lose my leg?”

  I didn’t know what to say. I was quite sure that the answer was yes, but I did not want Mr. Klug to give up hope.

  The police and medical personnel finally arrived. By that time, Mr. Klug and I had been in the water for two hours, and we were both shivering. When doctors suggested that they immediately amputate Mr. Klug’s leg, he begged them not to. I suggested that they give him morphine, which they did. After that, he calmed down.