An Experimental Analysis of Heart Transplantation in the Perspective of “Acculturation”

Abstract

　The first heart transplantation in Japan was carried out in August 1968; however, the second one was thirty one years later. During this period, particularly during the 1970s, Japanese heart surgeons had been silent for about 10 years. I considered the reason for surgeons’ silence in the perspective of “acculturation” focusing on the cultural aspects of heart transplantation.

　Heart transplantation was paid special attention from the international society, unlike other organ transplants. The heart transplant race that US surgeons had been absorbed in, spread over the world. After the South African surgeon Barnard who performed the world’s first one was praised from all over the world, heart transplants were carried out in the world all at once. One of the surgeons’ motives was ambition. The surgeon image as American hero was not able to be adapted to the traditional Japanese doctors’ image was imported to Japan which stuck on heart transplants by Japanese surgeon Wada whose thought was Americanism. So far Japanese surgeons have imported surgical techniques from the United States without doubts, but only regarding heart transplantation the cultural aspect of it made conflict with the traditional Japanese doctors’ image, and so Japanese heart surgeons came to be silent.