Last Updated: 07 Sep, 2023 | Views: 641
Age: 99
Profession: Doctor
Other Profession(s): Teacher, Cardiac Surgeon
Famous For: American general and cardiovascular surgeon, scientist and medical educator
Higher Education: Tulane University (BS, MD)
About (Profile/Biography):
Michael DeBakey was a renowned American cardiovascular surgeon, innovator, and medical educator. He was born on September 7, 1908, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and passed away at the age of 99.
Michael DeBakey Early Life and Education
DeBakey was the son of Lebanese immigrants and grew up in Louisiana. He attended Tulane University for his undergraduate studies and received his medical degree from the Tulane University School of Medicine in 1932. DeBakey then went on to complete his surgical residency at Charity Hospital in New Orleans and later completed fellowships at the University of Strasbourg in France and at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.
Michael DeBakey Career
DeBakey began his medical career in New Orleans, where he became interested in the field of cardiovascular surgery. He later moved to Houston, Texas, where he became a professor of surgery and the chairman of the Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine.
Throughout his career, DeBakey made numerous groundbreaking contributions to the field of cardiovascular surgery. He developed the roller pump, which made open-heart surgery possible, and also pioneered the use of Dacron grafts for aortic aneurysms. Additionally, DeBakey was the first surgeon to successfully implant an artificial heart in a human being.
DeBakey also played an important role in the development of medical education and research. He was instrumental in establishing the National Library of Medicine and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and he served as an advisor to several U.S. presidents.
Michael DeBakey Honors and Awards
DeBakey received numerous honors and awards throughout his career, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, and the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, which was named in his honor. He was also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal College of Surgeons.
Michael DeBakey Legacy
DeBakey is remembered as one of the most influential and innovative cardiovascular surgeons of the 20th century. His contributions to the field of cardiovascular surgery revolutionized the way heart disease is treated, and his work paved the way for many of the advances in the field that followed. Additionally, DeBakey's commitment to medical education and research helped to establish the groundwork for many of the medical advancements that have been made in recent decades.