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Michael DeBakey, pioneer of heart procedures, dead at 99


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Dr. Michael DeBakey, the world-famous cardiovascular surgeon who pioneered such now-common procedures as bypass surgery and invented a host of devices to help heart patients, died Friday night at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, officials announced. He was 99.


Dr. Michael DeBakey, seen here in a 1985 photo, developed heart procedures used by today's doctors.

DeBakey died from "natural causes," according to a written statement issued early Saturday by spokesmen for Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital.

DeBakey underwent surgery in February 2006 for a damaged aorta -- a procedure he had developed.

DeBakey counted world leaders among his patients and helped turn Baylor College of Medicine in Houston from a provincial school into one of the nation's great medical institutions.

"Dr. DeBakey's reputation brought many people into this institution, and he treated them all: heads of state, entertainers, businessmen and presidents, as well as people with no titles and no means," said Ron Girotto, president of The Methodist Hospital System.

Girotto said the surgeon "has improved the human condition and touched the lives of generations to come."

While still in medical school in 1932, he invented the roller pump, which became the major component of the heart-lung machine, beginning the era of open-heart surgery. The machine takes over the function of the heart and lungs during surgery.

It was only a start of a lifetime of innovation. The surgical procedures that DeBakey developed once were the wonders of the medical world. Today, they are commonplace procedures in most hospitals.
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3 responses // Michael DeBakey, pioneer of heart procedures, dead at 99

  • He also was a pioneer in the effort to develop artificial hearts and heart pumps to assist patients waiting for transplants, and helped create more than 70 surgical instruments.

    In a rare interview published in December 2006, DeBakey gave The New York Times details of the operation on his damaged aorta earlier that year, when he was 97.

    "It is a miracle," DeBakey said. "I really should not be here." He said he at first gambled that his aorta would heal on its own and refused to be admitted to a hospital, and was unresponsive and near death when his doctors and his wife decided to proceed, despite his age. He then spent several months in the hospital.

    As he recovered, DeBakey told his doctors he was glad they had operated, despite his earlier refusals.

    "If they hadn't done it, I'd be dead," he said.

    Dr. William T. Butler, a colleague of DeBakey's at Baylor, said in March 2006 that DeBakey established himself with his surgical firsts as the "maestro of cardiovascular surgery."

    "Dr. DeBakey was never afraid to challenge the status quo, often going against the tide," Butler said. "Some times his colleagues did not really accept his visionary ideas, particularly as he propelled beyond the boundaries of existing scientific dogma."

    In a 1985 Associated Press interview, DeBakey said, "I'm accused of being a perfectionist and, in the way it's usually defined, I guess I am. In medicine, and certainly in surgery, you have to be as perfect as possible. There's no room for mistakes."
    SilenceNoMore
  • i grew up as a paramedic and er tech in houston. i didn't personally know dr. debakey, but i was always very aware of his latest accomplishments and i never doubted his brilliance. we have lost an icon in the houston and national medicine community. i'll bet this one man has produced more medical advancements -- procedures and equipment -- used everyday, in every hospital in this country, than any other individual. thank you, dr. michael debakey.
    edbr
  • We have lost a great mind
    I wish the Family the best.
    Thank you Dr. for all those you gave some extra time to.
    rockon

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