Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center
Accomplishments
Michael Ellis DeBakey is internationally recognized as a pioneer of modern medicine. An ingenious medical inventor and innovator, a gifted and dedicated teacher, a premier surgeon, and an international medical statesman, Dr. DeBakey has relentlessly pursued new avenues in which modern technology can be applied to the practice of healing and saving lives.
At age 99, DeBakey is a senior attending surgeon at The Methodist Hospital, the largest hospital in the Texas Medical Center. He is also chancellor emeritus of Baylor College of Medicine, a center for leading medical education and research.
Born in Louisiana, DeBakey received his Bachelor's and medical degrees from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He completed his internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, and residency in surgery at the University of Strasbourg, France, and at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.
While in medical school and actively engaged in medical research, DeBakey invented the roller pump, later to become a major component of the heart-lung machine used in open-heart surgery. He is also credited with inventing and perfecting other medical devices, techniques, and procedures that have saved countless lives and led to health hearts for millions throughout the world.
DeBakey volunteered for military service during World War II, and was subsequently named director of the Surgical Consultants' Division of the U.S. Surgeon General's office. His work in that office led to the development of mobile army surgical hospital (MASH units). He later helped establish the specialized medical and surgical center system for treating military personnel returning from war, subsequently the Veterans’ Administration Medical Center System.
More than any other physician, DeBakey was crucial to the growth of The Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. It was at Methodist where DeBakey performed many of his groundbreaking surgeries, including the first removal of a carotid artery blockage (1950); the first aorto-coronary bypass surgery (1964); the first use of a ventricular assist device to pump blood and support a diseased heart (1966); and some of the first U.S. heart transplants (1968-69).
Over the years, DeBakey has earned an impressive reputation as an international medical statesman. He has served as an advisor to nearly every United States president for the past 50 years, as well as to heads of state throughout the world. DeBakey's efforts helped establish the National Library of Medicine, which is now the world's largest and most prestigious repository of medical archives. His 1996 trip to Russia to consult on the surgery of Russian president Boris Yeltsin was reported by every major news media outlet around the world.
This prolific surgeon and humanitarian has performed more than 60,000 cardiovascular procedures and has trained thousands of surgeons who practice around the world. In 1976, his students founded the Michael E. DeBakey International Surgical Society. His name is affixed to a number of organizations, centers for learning, and projects devoted to medical education and health education for the general public.
DeBakey has received numerous honorary degrees from prestigious colleges and universities, as well as innumerable awards from educational institutions, professional and civic organizations, and governments worldwide. In 1969, he received the highest honor a United States citizen can receive - the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan awarded the National Medal of Science to DeBakey.
As he celebrated his 90th birthday and his 50th year with Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital, the world recognized DeBakey’s contributions to medicine. He was seen by millions of television viewers performing a surgery with Dr. George Noon on NBC’s "Today" show, and was interviewed afterwards by host Matt Lauer. In 1999, DeBakey was one of eight individuals chosen to commemorate the United Nations’ International Day for Tolerance and received the prestigious UN Lifetime Achievement Award. A year later DeBakey was similarly recognized by the U. S. Library of Congress, which designated him a Living Legend.
In 2001 The Methodist Hospital dedicated the Methodist DeBakey Heart Center, a complete cardiac and cardiovascular care center, in honor of the esteemed surgeon.
In recent years DeBakey and his surgical partner, Dr. George Noon, developed a self-contained, miniaturized left ventricular assist device to pump blood for a diseased heart. The techniques used to miniaturize the device’s inner workings were developed with engineers from NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). DeBakey also lends his name to the DeBakey-Raytheon ITS telemedicine system which uses satellites to electronically link remote sites of the world to the famed Texas Medical Center for medical training and patient treatment.
In 1978 a 300-lb bronze bust of DeBakey, commissioned by King Leopold and Princess Liliane of Belgium, was unveiled in the lobby of The Methodist Hospital. At the unveiling the Princess said of DeBakey, “He has provided national and international leadership in fighting cardiovascular disease, and this bust will be a symbol of hope and encouragement to all who come here.” The bust stands in the lobby of The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. But always nearby is Dr. DeBakey himself, also a symbol of hope and encouragement, and a true American pioneer.
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