AAMI Pioneer DeBakey Dies
Michael E. DeBakey, MD, a renowned pioneer in the field of cardiac surgery and one of AAMI’s founding members, died at the age of 99 on July 11 at Methodist Hospital in Houston.
In April DeBakey received the highest U.S. civilian honor — the Congressional Gold Medal.
He served on AAMI’s Board of Directors for several years, beginning in 1966, and frequently published articles in AAMI’s journal — then called Medical Instrumentation. He invented scores of medical procedures and instruments, developed the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, and established what later became the Veterans Affairs hospital system.
DeBakey became one of the most influential and innovative heart surgeons in history, performing the first successful heart bypass operation. He is credited with saving thousands of lives. “His legacy is holding the fragile and sacred gift of human life in his hands and returning it unbroken,” President Bush said at the ceremony to award DeBakey the Congressional Gold Medal.
Among his many awards were the 1987 National Medal of Science and the 1969 Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was cited in 2000 as a “living legend” by the Library of Congress.