'Greatest surgeon of the 20th century' dies -- Dr. Michael DeBakey: 1908-2008

Houston Chronicle ^ | July 12, 2008 | Todd Ackerman and Eric Berger

[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.

[NittanyLion]

Wow, I’ve found you on two threads in two days. And, incredibly, you’ve firmly inserted your foot into mouth on both. LOL.

[PAR35]

You’ll be happy to know I’ve come up with an area where Mass outshines Texas. State income taxes. They pull in a lot more money that way.

[Ditter]

LOL!

[Ditter]

It was your statement that IF Doctor DeBakey had been the greatest surgeon he would have WANTED to practice in Boston, that got you into trouble. Do you really believe that we all secretly want to live in the NE but we just aren't good enough? Then you went on to disparage the doctors’ accomplishments by saying the hospital had good PR. WOW! Those two statements say much more about you than about Doctor DeBakey.

[TexanByBirth]

"Greatest surgeon ever"? What horsehockey! If he was the greatest surgeon ever he would have wanted to practice in Boston...or NY...or Baltimore...or San Francisco where you find the finest medical centers in the world.But I must give him credit....he sure had a powerful PR machine.

Wow...spoken just like a true elitist! Obama would be proud of you!

[trussell]

RIP Prayer ping.

Rest in Peace
 Dr. Michael Ellis DeBakey

My prayers go up for all who now mourn the passing of Dr. DeBakey.  

Blessings,
trussell

If you want on/off my prayer ping list, please let me know. All requests happily honored.

[IronJack]

For better or for worse Boston is the world capital of medicine and has been for years.

Oh, brother. Give it a rest, willya? Anybody ever heard of Walter Reed? Cedars Sinai? The Mayo Clinic? Your hubris has moved from merely offensive to outright ridiculous.

[richardtavor]

I don’t agree with your position. You are saying only the NE or the West Coast has the best medicine—think again. There are many great institutions about the land. KU Medical, Parkland Hospital in Dallas, MD Anderson in Houston are just a few. And if you have never been associated with any of these, then you are talking out of your Aarse.

[richardtavor]

Thank you for your honest evaluation—//sarc//

[richardtavor]

“(there are stories around here these days saying that given the outrageous prices of homes around here promising young doctors are going elsewhere)” - Yea, to Houston.

[Harrius Magnus]

If he was the greatest surgeon ever he would have wanted to practice in Boston...or NY...or Baltimore...or San Francisco where you find the finest medical centers in the world.

I happen to agree with your assertion that Boston is a Mecca for medical care,  as most "in the know" would recognize.  I disagree with your clumsy statement that "the greatest" in their field would necessarily choose a Boston hospital.  If you are as sincere, as your posts are supercilious, then you are probably the hospital's resident laughingstock. 

Also, I would be happy to compare notes on who is more qualified to comment on the medical "biz."  Then again, it would be consistent if you failed to recognize there are many here at FR that are in the very top of their chosen field.  This, of course, includes medicine - training, academics, research.  Surely a well-educated gentleman weighs these facts before shooting his mouth off in polite company?

[FBD]

>”What we have here, folks, is a classic case of a Metropollyanna. Someone who believes that all social, cultural, economic and scientific life is centered around a handful of cities, and [that] everyone who doesn't live in one of them desperately wants to.”<

amen to that! well said. Gay state: (of massachusetts) with 14 replies to your arrogant post, I'd estimate that you got your come-uppance

[AKA Elena]

Prayers for this remarkably gifted and innovative hero in world medicine.

[Gay State Conservative]

I happen to agree with your assertion that Boston is a Mecca for medical care, as most "in the know" would recognize. I disagree with your clumsy statement that "the greatest" in their field would necessarily choose a Boston hospital. If you are as sincere, as your posts are supercilious....

Strange that you should acknowledge the accuracy of my basic assertion about Boston/Baltimore/NYC/San Francisco medicine and still insist on calling me supercilious.Yes,I understand that there are many smart folks on FR and I'm sure that at least a few are in the medical "biz".But the closest I've come to hearing from such a (self-identified) person is one whose mother is a Tufts Medical School grad...said mother,according to him,believing that New England medicine is "too restrictive".

If one or more folks want to come foreword and say..."yes,I'm a physician....a nurse...a hospital administrator....a member of a medical school's faculty...and here's where your wrong" then I say...let's talk.

But the best I've been able to do so far is a guy from Texas who gave me no indication that he has any experience working in the "biz" stating "nothing in Massachusetts is better than it is in Texas".In short,as it concerns my participation in this thread,it's become a "Massachusetts (or the Northeast) sucks" variation of the civil war.

I could explain in great detail my basic premise (the part about wanting to be in Boston/NYC/Baltimore,etc) but I tired of this thread long ago.

However,if you'd care to divulge the details of the expertise that you hinted at in your post (it's clearly OK if you don't...different folks have different views on personal disclosure in chat rooms) then maybe I could tell you a couple of very revealing stories (gleaned from personal experience) regarding my initial suggestion.

[60Gunner]

Thanks for the ping.

I work in one of the top 17 hospitals in the nation for emergency heart attack care. I can say confidently that there is not a single intervention performed there that does not, either directly or secondarily, have Dr. DeBakey's fingerprint somewhere in it.

I do not think that where a doctor works makes him or her a great doctor. Rather, I believe that what a doctor does makes him or her a great doctor.

I work every day among great doctors, who may never be published, and who may never be remembered by anyone but the patients whom they treated. But they are all ferocious patient advocates, and they all invest every bit of skill and knowledge they possess on behalf of their patients.

As far as I am concerned, that is what makes a doctor "great."

[Gay State Conservative]

I remember you,60gunner.I recall very much appreciating several of your posts regarding ER nursing.One reason why is because I'm a "veteran" of 20 years in ER administration (yes,the paper pushers).So...on to my response....

I work in one of the top 17 hospitals in the nation for emergency heart attack care.

I worked in the ER of one of the major teaching affiliates of what most folks "in the know" consider to be the finest medical school in the world.If you check my profile and learn where I am you'll probably know which one I'm taking about.

I can say confidently that there is not a single intervention performed there that does not, either directly or secondarily, have Dr. DeBakey's fingerprint somewhere in it.

I'm in absolutely no position to refute that statement.In fact,I have no trouble believing it's true.

I do not think that where a doctor works makes him or her a great doctor.

That's true to a degree,I believe.However,if you knew something about "academic" medicine (which may very well be true of you) you'd know that the finest physicians...the ones who are in it for the healing rather than the glory or the $$$...want to be with other outstanding physicians.They'd rather be second banana...or even fifth banana...to a world famous physician rather than top dog at another hospital.I could tell you a story about the Vice Chairman of the Dept of Medicine at my former place of work.He was second in command to Dr Eugene Braunwald (being in cardiac care,I'll wager that you've heard of Dr Braunwald).I firmly believe this to be true but will spare you the stories I could tell regarding this point.

Rather, I believe that what a doctor does makes him or her a great doctor.

Remove the word "rather" and we'd be in complete agreement.

I work every day among great doctors, who may never be published, and who may never be remembered by anyone but the patients whom they treated. But they are all ferocious patient advocates, and they all invest every bit of skill and knowledge they possess on behalf of their patients.

I,too,have rubbed shoulders with many amazingly skilled and dedicated physicians...many of whom have been published...some of whom haven't...but all of whom are remembered by their patients,their peers and subordinates as being outstanding physicians.

As far as I am concerned, that is what makes a doctor "great."

Yes,a single-minded dedication to the patient's recovery and maintaining (and improving) one's skills in delivering that care is a quality that all "great" physicians posses.

[60Gunner]

I think we are looking at the same thing from different angles. There are the Great Doctors who spend decades seeking better and more accessible healing methods. These Discoverers constantly challenge themselves with the question: "Can there be a better way of doing this?" They are the doctors whose dedication, intellect, experience, and skill challenge the rest of us dedicated professionals to hone our skill and understanding for the ultimate benefit of the patient.

Now let us examine a different facet of the same jewel: At the point of care there are the Journeyman physicians who also challenge themselves with a fervor equal to that of the Discoverer to increase their skill and knowledge, and to improve methods and techniques that have a more immediate impact on the patient's well-being. They do not hold forth great dissertations before thousands of rapt listeners at a time. They apply the discoveries of the great researchers, and perfect what is discovered through the fine adjustments demanded by the astounding uniqueness of each human being. They do this day in and day out, decade upon decade.

There are great doctors in both realms. There is room in this world for both Discoverer and Journeyman. Should there be only either one or the other, this world would certainly be a sadder place for it. Thank God such is not the case!

I for one am glad for the Braunwalds, Kopases and DeBakeys of the world. I am certain that there are tens of millions of other people who are equally glad, even if they have never heard of them but have benefitted, directly or indirectly, from their innovation, knowledge and skill.