Borys Paton, World Welding Pioneer

Hi! My name is Artiom and I’d like to dedicate today’s post to Borys Paton and introduce you to some interesting facts from the life of the famous Ukrainian scientist.

Borys Paton’s father was the famous scientist Yevgeny Paton. It is with him that Borys is often confused and Paton Jr. is mistakenly credited with the design and construction of the legendary Paton Bridge in Kyiv.

Borys Paton was one of the world’s leading experts in welding technology. He was the first to suggest welding in space. He developed the world’s first device for processing metal in space using a beam of rays.

Borys Paton is the author of the idea and one of the developers of the method of electric welding of soft tissues. This was a real breakthrough in medicine!

Welding of Soft Tissues

The method of electric welding of soft tissues, also called electrosurgical tissue welding or electrowelding, is a modern medical technique. Instead of using stitches or staples, doctors use electric current to join or seal soft tissues in the body. This method is becoming more popular because it is precise, fast, and helps to reduce bleeding and damage during surgery.

This technique uses high-frequency electric current, also known as radiofrequency (RF) energy, to heat the tissue. The heat changes the structure of proteins like collagen and elastin, which are found in soft tissues. When these proteins are heated, they unfold and stick together, which closes the wound or cut. It is similar to welding metal but on living tissue.

The process works in several steps. First, a special tool called an electrode applies the electric current to the tissue. Then, the tissue is heated to a safe temperature, usually between 60 and 90 degrees Celsius. This heat causes the proteins in the tissue to change shape and bond with each other. As a result, the tissue becomes fused or sealed, and there is no need for stitches.

Electric tissue welding is used in many areas of medicine. In general surgery, it helps to seal blood vessels, organs like the liver, and parts of the intestines. In gynecology, it can be used in surgeries on the uterus or fallopian tubes. It is also useful in gynecology, in urology, in eye surgeries, and even heart surgery, especially for sealing blood vessels. Many minimally invasive surgeries, like laparoscopic procedures, also use this method.

There are many advantages to this method. It causes less bleeding, which helps doctors work more safely. It also makes the surgery faster and reduces the need for foreign materials like stitches. Patients often feel less pain after the operation, heal more quickly, and have less scarring.

However, there are also some challenges. The electric current and temperature must be very carefully controlled. If not, it can cause damage to the surrounding healthy tissue. Also, this method may not be suitable for all types of tissues or for sealing very large blood vessels unless special tools are used.

Borys Paton played a very important role in creating the method of electric welding for soft tissues. He was the one who started and led the research into using electric welding, a technology usually used in metalwork, for use on living human and animal tissues.

Under his guidance, the Paton Institute in Kyiv, Ukraine, developed the first working methods for using electric current to weld soft parts of the body, such as blood vessels, skin, and intestines. Borys Paton also gave strong support to scientists like Professor Borys Yatsenko, who worked on the medical and surgical parts of the process.

One of the biggest achievements of this work was the first successful use of this method on blood vessels, both in animals and in humans, during the 1990s and early 2000s. After that, the method was used in Ukraine and in other countries. Paton believed this technique was a revolutionary change from traditional stitches, especially in operations involving blood vessels.

The impact of Paton’s work was big. He combined knowledge from physics, engineering, and medicine to create something completely new. Thanks to his vision, a technology from metal welding was transformed into a life-saving medical tool.

Today, Borys Paton is remembered as the visionary founder of biomedical welding. Scientists like Yatsenko and others are known for developing the technical details of the method, but it was Paton’s leadership that made it all possible.

Borys Paton is the first person to receive the title of Hero of Ukraine.

He served as President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine from 1962 until his death in 2020, almost 60 years. No one in the world has led a national academy that long.