The Transatlantic Relationship: Hands across the Ocean from Borst to Mohr

The First Generation

The metaphor of “hands across the ocean” was first embraced by Hans Borst in 1985 to define the close, collaborative relationship between German and American thoracic surgeons ([Fig. 1]).[1] In the postwar era, numerous American surgeons helped put German thoracic surgery back on its feet. This led to a bidirectional transatlantic alliance in which patients in both countries benefited from the cross-fertilization and coeducation among surgeons. Prof. Friedrich Mohr crossed the ocean in the late 1980s to build a lifelong collaboration with, among others, Jack Matloff and Frank Litvak at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, United States.

Fig. 1 Friedrich Mohr as a young surgeon with his mentor and friend Hans Georg Borst.

• References

• 1 Borst HG. Hands across the ocean. German-American relations in thoracic surgery. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1985; 90 (4) 477-489
• 2 Mohr FW, Falk V, Diegeler A, Walther T, van Son JA, Autschbach R. Minimally invasive port-access mitral valve surgery. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1998; 115 (3) 567-574 , discussion 574–576
• 3 Mohr FW, Morice MC, Kappetein AP , et al. Coronary artery bypass graft surgery versus percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with three-vessel disease and left main coronary disease: 5-year follow-up of the randomised, clinical SYNTAX trial. Lancet 2013; 381 (9867): 629-638