I beg to differ.
Posted on 07/12/2008 5:11:33 AM PDT by Zakeet
Dr. Michael Ellis DeBakey, internationally acclaimed as the father of modern cardiovascular surgery — and considered by many to be the greatest surgeon ever — died Friday night at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. He was 99.
Methodist officials said DeBakey died of natural causes. They gave no additional details.
Medical statesman, chancellor emeritus of Baylor College of Medicine, and a surgeon at The Methodist Hospital since 1949, DeBakey trained thousands of surgeons over several generations, achieving legendary status decades before his death. During his career, he estimated he had performed more than 60,000 operations. His patients included the famous — Russian President Boris Yeltsin and movie actress Marlene Dietrich among them — and the uncelebrated.
"Dr. DeBakey singlehandedly raised the standard of medical care, teaching and research around the world," said Dr. George Noon, a cardiovascular surgeon and longtime partner of DeBakey's. "He was the greatest surgeon of the 20th century, and physicians everywhere are indebted to him for his contributions to medicine."
Debakey almost died in 2006, when he suffered an aortic aneurysm, a condition for which he pioneered the treatment. He is considered the oldest patient to have both undergone and survived surgery for it. He recovered well enough to go to Washington earlier this year to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the nation's two highest civilian honors.
He remained vigorous and was a player in medicine well into his 90s, performing surgeries, traveling and publishing articles in scientific journals. His large hands were steady, his hearing sharp. His personal health regimen included taking the stairs at work and a single cup of coffee in the morning.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Farewell to a great man. May he rest in peace and may his loved ones be comforted.
Amen, y’all!
Thank you.
(Now to head for work).
Dr. House?
He was a pioneer in many procedures we take for granted today.
Same age as my grandfather was when he died.
Of course he was just an orphan, farmer, and Sunday School teacher. But 99 is 99. His son and one his three daughters did not make it anywhere near to that age. His other two daughters, my mother who is the youngest and the older of my two Aunts, are still with us though.
"The Texas Medical Center started with a dream to create a medical center, where people from all walks of life could have access to the best health care anywhere - whether they were rich, poor, famous, alone, young, or old.
60 years since that dream originated, it has been realized many times over. The 46 institutions of the Texas Medical Center each exist to serve all of mankind. On any given day, one can find people from every social circumstance and many of the world's nations seeking treatment at the center's renowned institutions.
Many TMC institutions are working to make the Texas Medical Center quality of care convenient to even more people by placing clinics, offices, and other facilities in neighborhoods throughout Houston and the surrounding communities, and even in other parts of Texas and the world.
In the Texas Medical Center, there is something to meet everybody's needs. Two trauma facilities are located in the center, as are institutions specializing in every imaginable aspect of health care, including care for children, cancer patients, heart care, organ transplantation, terminal illness, mental health, and wellness and prevention.
All 46 of institutions of the Texas Medical Center are not-for-profit, and are dedicated to the highest standards of patient care, research, and education. These institutions include 13 renowned hospitals and two specialty institutions, two medical schools, four nursing schools, and schools of dentistry, public health, pharmacy, and virtually all health-related careers. It is where one of the first, and still the largest, air ambulance service was created; a very successful inter-institutional transplant program was developed; and more heart surgeries are performed than anywhere else in the world.
It's all here, in the Texas Medical Center -- and it's here for everyone."
2007 Stats:
As the largest medical center in the world, the Texas Medical Center is an internationally recognized community of healing, education and groundbreaking research. TMC is the home of many of the nation's best hospitals, physicians, researchers, educational institutions and health care providers.
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46 – TMC institutions - Includes 23 agencies of government and 23 private not-for-profit health institutions
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33,150 – Full-time students and more than 75,000 part-time students |
I beg to differ.
Apparently the "inferior" hospital in Houston did a pretty good job...
Perhaps this will explain it....(from Wikipedia):
"As of October 1, 2007, Everett had been relocated to Houston, near his family and off-season home where he will begin a long rehabilitation that doctors believe will lead to his eventually walking again."
Long rehab....a long hospital stay....makes sense that he'd want to be close to home if possible.
And for the record...I never said that any particular hospital...or hospitals in a particular state...were inferior in any absolute sense.I have no doubt that it's possible to....actually,easy to....get top notch health care in Houston,Dallas and perhaps elsewhere in TX (Brooke Army Medical Center comes to mind).
This whole thing seems to have deteriorated into a "Massachusetts (or the Northeast) sucks" thing which is unfortunate because it needn't have happened.
Oh well....sensitive people.
I agree - there are top notch hospitals all over the country. I think you actually started the problem by dismissing the contributions this incredible doctor made.
I wasn't dismissing contributions.I have no problem believing that Dr DeBakey was an outstanding physician and surgeon.What I object to is labeling him as "the best surgeon ever"...which is a whole lot different than labeling him "an outstanding surgeon".Knowing what I know about the medical world (which is fairly substantial,having seen it up close and personal) I can say with great confidence that that phrase ("the best surgeon...")came from a hospital's....or a medical school's....PR machine and,among the true greats of medicine,would be seen as tawdry and tacky....even if it could be proven to be true.
No, you dismissed his achievements because he didn’t practice in what you feel are the best hospitals in the world. You mentioned “greatest” with your comment about another doctor. I doubt Dr. Debakey would care what you think, or care to be compared to any other doctor, he was just brilliant in his own right and saved many thousands of lives with his innovative techniques and equipment.
You know, I got to wondering on my way to church this morning whether Denton Cooley would agree with that headline.
“Cooley reportedly answered in the affirmative when a lawyer during a trial asked him if he considered himself to be the best heart surgeon in the world. “Don’t you think that’s being rather immodest?” the lawyer replied. “Perhaps,” Dr. Cooley responded. “But remember I’m under oath.””
Well, if you hadn't kicked off things with typical yankee arrogance, perhaps it wouldn't have. You really should broaden your horizons.
Thanks....... TXCN had a tribute to his life on today.
As the article stated many considered him the greatest surgeon ever and to those who’s life he touched via his surgery or techniques I’m sure they have a right to feel that way. Texas and the world has lost a great human being with his death but his legacy will continue to inspire and bring help to those in need.
So, you are correct, I can't think of any category where Mass can best Texas.
I think what we have here is your basic Texas.....nope,can't say it....must adhere to the FR charter.....
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