The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major
teaching hospital in
Toronto,
Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of
University Health Network
University Health Network (UHN) is a public research and teaching hospital network in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest health research organization in Canada and ranks first in Canada for total research funding. It was named Canada's t ...
(UHN). It is located in the
Discovery District
The Discovery District is one of the commercial districts in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has a high concentration of hospitals and research institutions, particularly those related to biotechnology. The district is roughly bounded by Blo ...
of
Downtown Toronto along
University Avenue
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
's Hospital Row; it is directly north of
The Hospital for Sick Children
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
, across Gerrard Street West, and east of
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (previously, ''Princess Margaret Hospital'') is a scientific research centre and a teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, affiliated with the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine as part of the Univ ...
and
Mount Sinai Hospital. The hospital serves as a teaching hospital for the
University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. In 2019, the hospital was ranked first for research in Canada by Research Infosource for the ninth consecutive year.
The emergency department now treats 28,065 persons each year, while the hospital also houses the major
transplantation service for Ontario, performing
heart
The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to ...
,
lung,
kidney,
liver,
pancreas
The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an ...
, and
small intestine
The small intestine or small bowel is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract where most of the absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intestine, and receives bile and pancreatic juice through the ...
, amongst others, for patients referred from all over Canada. The hospital is the largest
organ transplant center in North America, performing 639 transplants in 2017.
The hospital is also renowned for cardiac and thoracic surgery. The world's first single and double
lung transplants were performed at TGH in 1983 and 1986 and the world's first
valve-sparing aortic root replacement
Valve-sparing aortic root replacement (also known as the David procedure) is a cardiac surgery procedure which is used to treat Aortic aneurysms and to prevent Aortic dissection. It involves replacement of the aortic root without replacement of th ...
was done by
Tirone David
Tirone Esperidiao David, (born November 20, 1944) is a Brazilian-born Canadian cardiac surgeon and professor of surgery at the University of Toronto. He is an attending cardiac surgeon at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, Toronto General Hospital. ...
at Toronto General Hospital in 1992. The Lung Transplant program is currently the largest in the world, performing 167 lung transplants in 2017. In 2015, surgeons performed the world's first triple organ transplant (lung, liver and pancreas) in 19 year old Reid Wylie at Toronto General Hospital. TGH teaches resident physicians, nurses, and technicians; it also conducts research through the Toronto General Research Institute.
Currently,
Sophie, Countess of Wessex, as a member of the
Canadian Royal Family, is patron of the hospital.
History
The hospital started as a small shed in the old town and was used as a
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
military hospital during the
War of 1812, after which it was founded as a permanent institutionYork General Hospitalin 1829, at John and King Streets (now home to
Bell Lightbox
TIFF Bell Lightbox is a cultural centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the first five floors of the Bell Lightbox and Festival Tower on the north west corner of King Street and John Street.
TIFF Bell Lightbox features five cinemas, two ...
). In 1855 a new home for the hospital was built on the north side of Gerrard Street, east of Parliament, using a design by architect
William Hay. In 1913, the hospital moved to
College Street, near its current location, expanding and upgrading over the ensuing years. The 1913 structure, previously called the ''College Wing'', was eventually sold by the hospital, to become the home of the
MaRS Discovery District
MaRS Discovery District is a not-for-profit corporation founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2000. Its stated goal is to commercialize publicly funded medical research and other technologies with the help of local private enterprises and as such ...
after a new wing for the TGH was completed and opened in 2002.
Ajmera Transplant Centre
Toronto General Hospital was the largest organ transplantation center in North America in 2017, performing 639 transplants in total.
*Lung - TGH performed 167 lung transplants, making it the largest lung transplant program in the world.
*Liver - TGH performed 195 liver Transplants with 39 of those living donor transplants in 2017 making the program the largest in North America.
*Kidney - TGH performed 202 kidney transplants, 65 of those were living donor transplants, making the program the largest in Canada
*Heart - TGH performed 34 heart transplants in 2017, making the program the largest in Canada
*Pancreas - TGH performed 8 pancreas transplants in 2018, making the program the largest in Canada.
*Kidney-Pancreas - TGH performed 34 kidney-pancreas transplants in 2017, making the program the largest in Canada.
*Small Bowel - TGH performed 1 small bowel transplant in 2018.
Peter Munk Cardiac Centre
Toronto General Hospital is the home of the
Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (PMCC), which is one of the largest open heart centers in Canada and is ranked first in Canada and in the top ten in North America for academic productivity. Many clinical firsts in cardiovascular care were performed at TGH. The center is named after
Peter Munk, the founder and chairman of
Barrick Gold
Barrick Gold Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper with 16 operating sites in 13 countries. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has mining operations in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Democrati ...
corporation, who donated $100 million in 2017, the largest donation to a hospital in Canadian history. He donated a total of $175 million since 1993 to the hospital.
Research
Toronto General Hospital has had many research achievements, including:
*The development and first clinical use of
insulin in the treatment of
diabetes – 1922
*World's first clinical use of the anticoagulant
heparin
Heparin, also known as unfractionated heparin (UFH), is a medication and naturally occurring glycosaminoglycan. Since heparins depend on the activity of antithrombin, they are considered anticoagulants. Specifically it is also used in the treatm ...
– 1935
*World's first external heart
pacemaker used in open heart resuscitation – 1950
*World's first successful valve transplant – 1955
*World's first
coronary care unit
A coronary care unit (CCU) or cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) is a hospital ward specialized in the care of patients with heart attacks, unstable angina, cardiac dysrhythmia and (in practice) various other cardiac conditions that require conti ...
– 1965
*World's first successful single
lung transplant (Tom Hall) – 1983
*World's first successful double
lung transplant (
Ann Harrison) – 1986
*World's first aortic valve transplant using the Toronto Heart Valve – 1987
*Canada's first and largest HIV/AIDS clinic, the Immunodeficiency Clinic – 1994
*World's first successful triple organ transplant (lung, liver and pancreas) – 2015
*Canada's first hand transplant – 2016
See also
*
List of Canadian organizations with royal patronage
This is a list of Canadian organizations with royal patronage. The practice of members of the Canadian Royal Family giving their patronage to Canadian organizations stems from that which started in the United Kingdom in pre- industrial times, wh ...
*
William Rawlins Beaumont
*
List of hospitals in Toronto
References
External links
Hospital websiteHealth Innovationtouches on the TGH's early history and design.
{{Authority control
Hospital buildings completed in 1855
Hospital buildings completed in 1913
General Hospital
Darling and Pearson buildings
Organizations based in Canada with royal patronage
Hospitals established in 1812
York General Hospital
1855 establishments in Canada
Military Hospital, Upper Canada
Hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto
1812 establishments in Upper Canada