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Saturday, July 12, 2008
If you're younger than I am, you probably don't remember Dr. Michael DeBakey, who died yesterday at 99. But regardless of your age, you've almost certainly had a friend or family member who has benefited from one of the scores of inventions or procedures that proceeded from DeBakey's brain as he labored most of his life to increase lifespan through repairing damaged hearts. A whole generation of cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons derived their inspiration from DeBakey's brilliance and courage.
DeBakey, the man, has passed from the scene. The DeBakey legacy lives on in every person who's had bypass surgery or any number of other life-saving interventions of the heart.
Pioneering heart doctor Michael DeBakey dead at 99
His patients ranged from penniless peasants from the Third World to such famous figures as the Duke of Windsor, the Shah of Iran, King Hussein of Jordan, Turkish President Turgut Ozal, Nicaraguan Leader Violetta Chamorro and Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.
But he said celebrities don't get special treatment on the operating table: "Once you incise the skin, you find that they are all very similar."
DeBakey, the man, has passed from the scene. The DeBakey legacy lives on in every person who's had bypass surgery or any number of other life-saving interventions of the heart.
Pioneering heart doctor Michael DeBakey dead at 99
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