In 1972, while at Stanford University, he pioneered the use of the bioptome and transvenous endomyocardial biopsy in the early diagnosis of heart transplant rejection.
[1] However, by being able to examine small biopsies taken from the interventricular septum of the heart it was possible to detect early histological changes of rejection and increase immunosuppressive treatment earlier and more effectively.
The device, a modification of one produced by Konno in Japan, was inserted through the right internal jugular vein and guided into the right ventricle of the transplanted heart.
[10] A close friend who visited Caves in Stanford and later pioneered the cardiac transplant programme in Cambridge, Sir Terence English, described Caves in an interview as giving priority to the development of the paediatric and adult cardiac services and having "great enthusiasm for the future of heart transplantation".
[14] His influence on attitudes at Glasgow's Children's Hospital in the 1970s has been described as "whirlwind" as he operated on newborns who were previously considered not fit for surgery.
[15] Amongst colleagues, Caves is thought to have been the most likely surgeon to have started the UK's first heart transplant program had he lived.
Caves died unexpectedly in Scotland from a heart attack on 23 July 1978, while playing a game of squash in Helensburgh.
Eligibility criteria include students / Residents / Fellows / Scientists in training who are first authors and presenters, must be current members of the Society and not having previously won the award.
[3][5] It was recorded at the 50th anniversary of the annals of thoracic surgery in 2015, that Caves' approach to early organ rejection "remains the gold standard for today".