Answer:
He successfully and carefully performed a heart surgery on a man with a knife wound to the heart even though there were no X-ray machines to help him see into heart, while still making sure everything was done under antiseptic conditions.
Explanation:
Dr William Hale was in a dilemma when a black man with a knife wound to the heart stumbled into his hospital, Provident Hospital. Since there were no X-ray machines to help see into the heart the extent of the wound, the only option was opening the heart itself. It was a surgery no one had performed before, so it was a great risk. However, not performing the operation too was sure to result in the death of the man.
Dr William Hale confidently reassured the man that he could help. Assisted by other doctors, he carefully cut into the man's chest, examined the depth of the stab wound, found and repaired a torn blood vessel, stitched up the pericardium, and very carefully cleaned the wound and the chest cavity, to make sure that no infection set in. Afterwards, he sealed up the man's chest while still ensuring everything he did was done under antiseptic conditions. The man survived and lived in for many decades.
