Dr.Michael DeBakey Dead At 99

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lcwhitney

lcwhitney

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 10, 2002
Messages
440
Location
louisiana
While Dr. DeBakey isn't a member, we've given him an honorary member status for his lifetime achievements and allowed his obit to be in here.
Ross

Dr. Michael DeBakey died Friday at 99 I Met and spoke with him briefly during my last stay atMethodist Hospital in 2003. even at 94 he still had a very sharp mind and continued to teach and work with the medical students .
I am sure he will be missed. Many of us would not be here if not for his pioneering work.

Lettitia
 
Wow. He had a full life. We always hate to see them go, but at 99, I don't think anyone can complain.
 
Tony Snow is also dead today.

I didn't know Debakey was lebanese... Deeb is also Lebanese and happens to be an awesome aortic surgeon. I am also awesome and Lebanese.
 
Here's to a man that helped us all be here today, tomorrow and in the future. Thank you Dr. DeBakey.

On the issue of not complaining if you live to 99 - some folks might not be happy if they are still sharp and healthy. I hope I get to find out how I would feel about dying if I were 99. I think I would still go out kicking and screaming: "NOT YET"!!!!;):D
 
While looking for a link to CVCP for Niki, I came across the article about Dr. DeBakey's death. Too bad he didn't make it to 100. He was just a few months away, and then he could have gotten a card from the President! :p He has been one of my heroes since I was in high school. Believe it or not, he was overseeing surgeries quite recently, as well as training future surgeons! Here is the link to the AP article.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j2I0M41mZr7A9taDEgKi2aQVPyvAD91SDFGO0
 
BTW, OldManEmu, I had my surgery at 36 so I could live to be 99! I'm not going to let my kids off easy by dying young!
 
AaronJ said:
Tony Snow is also dead today.

I didn't know Debakey was lebanese... Deeb is also Lebanese and happens to be an awesome aortic surgeon. I am also awesome and Lebanese.
Click to expand...
I've noticed a lot of scholarly articles on heart surgery come out of universities in other countries, many from India, North Africa. England, as well. I have wondered if some other countries have fewer restraints, or different liability laws, or for some other reason are more hospitable to this research.

Research in growing one's own heart valve for transplant is well under way in Britain. Apparently it will take only 6 to 8 weeks to grow it using the patient's own cells. That research could not be done very well in the U.S. because it is considered cloning.
 
Lisa in Katy said:
While looking for a link to CVCP for Niki, I came across the article about Dr. DeBakey's death. Too bad he didn't make it to 100. He was just a few months away, and then he could have gotten a card from the President! :p He has been one of my heroes since I was in high school. Believe it or not, he was overseeing surgeries quite recently, as well as training future surgeons! Here is the link to the AP article.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j2I0M41mZr7A9taDEgKi2aQVPyvAD91SDFGO0
Click to expand...

Dr. DeBakey was at the White House this spring to receive a Congressional Medal for his contributions. I believe it's called the Congressional Gold Medal...perhaps the highest civilian medal U.S. government awards? I watched on TV as the president placed it around his neck and said a big thank you to him..... Where would we be without his genius? He was lucid and aware though in a wheelchair.
 
The next paragraph is a great quote by Dr. DeBakey. The final paragraph is about the valve that he invented. It was used from 1968 to 1978, but recalled because of broken struts. Nonetheless, it lasted over 30 years in some patients. The paragraph also has a promising statement about today's valves.

"Real success requires respect for and faithfulness to the highest human values--honesty, integrity, self-discipline, dignity, compassion, humility, courage, personal responsibility, courtesy, and human service."--Michael DeBakey, M.D. (in Success Secrets of Super Achievers by Stovall)

"Contemporary mechanical heart valve prostheses are expected to last "just about forever" or the patient's lifeline. They do however still suffer complications, some of which necessitate premature explantation. Complications today are mainly related to patient compliance with anticoagulant medication, infection and hemorrhage. The DeBakey Surgitool mechanical heart valve was the first such device to have Pyrolyte components. We present a DeBakey surgitool mechanical heart valve that was in place for 32 years! It was explanted for dysfunction related to tissue overgrowth and not to its related components. With good patient compliance, this mechanical heart valve prosthesis is an example of good prosthetic valve durability."
 
When I was 10 yrs old living in Houston in 1964 or '65, doctors at first thought I might have a hole between chambers in my heart. I don't know why they thought this, but they didn't have echo capability then. At Texas Children's Hospital, I was told at the time and just before a catherization that Dr. DeBakey and Dr. Cooley may need to give me an artificial heart. They were going to transfer me to a different hospital if this was necessary. Thank goodness the cath showed a bicuspid aortic valve and not a hole between my chambers. Everyone downplayed my BAV and told me maybe some day I'd need an artificial valve. Glad I never met Dr. DeBakey back then, but little did I realize then that I would develop an aortic aneurysm and need his Dacron graft (I seem to recall he first found Dacron while shopping at Woolworth's in Houston). I was surprised to learn after my surgery at Methodist Hospital that Dr. DeBakey also had this same surgery. He was truly a great man!
 
MrP said:
When I was 10 yrs old living in Houston in 1964 or '65, doctors at first thought I might have a hole between chambers in my heart. I don't know why they thought this, but they didn't have echo capability then. At Texas Children's Hospital, I was told at the time and just before a catherization that Dr. DeBakey and Dr. Cooley may need to give me an artificial heart. They were going to transfer me to a different hospital if this was necessary. Thank goodness the cath showed a bicuspid aortic valve and not a hole between my chambers. Everyone downplayed my BAV and told me maybe some day I'd need an artificial valve. Glad I never met Dr. DeBakey back then, but little did I realize then that I would develop an aortic aneurysm and need his Dacron graft (I seem to recall he first found Dacron while shopping at Woolworth's in Houston). I was surprised to learn after my surgery at Methodist Hospital that Dr. DeBakey also had this same surgery. He was truly a great man!
Click to expand...

I noticed that you mentioned Dr. Denton Cooley. Dr. Cooley who is 95 years old now, was the surgeon that implanted my artificial valves back in 1975. Dr. DeBakey & Dr. Cooley are & were some of the first pioneers in open heart surgery & the loss of Dr. DeBakey is indeed a HUGE loss to all of us. I just pray that Dr. Cooley lives many, many more years to come!

My condolences to the DeBakey family & to heart community! :(
 
I read the Associated Press story about Dr. DeBakey in the newspaper today. Very very impressive man. Some of his accomplishments started when he was in medical school. He graduated from med school in only 2 years. His dad -- a pharmacist -- taught him to always stay busy, and his mom -- a seamstress -- helped teach him to sew (he attended her sewing groups).

In reading the story, I became curious if he was ever considered for the Nobel Price in Medicine.

Does anyone know?
 
Norma, Dr. Cooley is only 87. I looked it up yesterday because I remember him as being quite old when I was a teenager. He was 56 when I saw him! Since I'm now 46, I'm now thinking he was quite young!

Dr. DeBakey did not win the Nobel prize. Some say it was due to the incident in 1969 that caused a rift between him and Dr. Cooley, which lasted until just a couple of years ago. Dr. Cooley implanted the first artificial heart, which he and another doctor had built, but Dr. DeBakey said it was identical to one that was designed by him in the Baylor labs. Dr. Cooley later resigned from Baylor, and just in the last couple of years allowed physicians in his group to practice there. Anyway, many doctors say that the implantation of the artificial heart would have been the final touch to earn Dr. Debakey a Nobel prize. Think what these two men could have done if they had continued collaborating for all those years!

By the way, the patient lived on the artificial heart for almost 3 days, but died after it was removed and a real heart was transplanted.
 
Thank you Dr. DeBakey for all you have done for us and for humankind.

May you rest in peace.

Ruth
 
Lisa in Katy said:
Norma, Dr. Cooley is only 87. I looked it up yesterday because I remember him as being quite old when I was a teenager. He was 56 when I saw him! Since I'm now 46, I'm now thinking he was quite young!

Dr. DeBakey did not win the Nobel prize. Some say it was due to the incident in 1969 that caused a rift between him and Dr. Cooley, which lasted until just a couple of years ago. Dr. Cooley implanted the first artificial heart, which he and another doctor had built, but Dr. DeBakey said it was identical to one that was designed by him in the Baylor labs. Dr. Cooley later resigned from Baylor, and just in the last couple of years allowed physicians in his group to practice there. Anyway, many doctors say that the implantation of the artificial heart would have been the final touch to earn Dr. Debakey a Nobel prize. Think what these two men could have done if they had continued collaborating for all those years!

By the way, the patient lived on the artificial heart for almost 3 days, but died after it was removed and a real heart was transplanted.
Click to expand...


You're absolutely right Katy --- Dr. Cooley was born in 1920 which would make him 88 years old today. And yes, I knew that there some sort of "rift" between him & DeBakey over the first artificial heart but irregardless to that, they are both the greatest surgeons in history as far as I'm concerned!
 
This guy was such a hero to us here at vr.com...he even made it onto the Aussie news the other night....to make it to 99 I reckon he did really well. I wonder who is going to be the next legend in OHS!?
 
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