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November 23, 2022
Today in Texas History
By Bandera Spirits of Texas
On this day in 1964, Dr. Michael DeBakey and his team performed the world's first successful coronary artery bypass graft surgery in Houston.
DeBakey, Denton Cooley and many others in Houston revolutionized cardiovascular surgery by developing new techniques for the treatment of patients with congenital anomalies, aneurysms and vascular-occlusive diseases.
Cooley and his associates performed the first heart transplant in the United States in 1968. The patient lived 204 days. By 1987, 80 percent of patients lived at least one year. Some patients have survived more than 20 years with new hearts.
Heart transplantation is no longer experimental. More than 3,000 transplants are performed each year worldwide.
DeBakey, Denton Cooley and many others in Houston revolutionized cardiovascular surgery by developing new techniques for the treatment of patients with congenital anomalies, aneurysms and vascular-occlusive diseases.
Cooley and his associates performed the first heart transplant in the United States in 1968. The patient lived 204 days. By 1987, 80 percent of patients lived at least one year. Some patients have survived more than 20 years with new hearts.
Heart transplantation is no longer experimental. More than 3,000 transplants are performed each year worldwide.