Denton Cooley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Denton A. Cooley | |
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| Born | August 22, 1920 |
| Profession | Surgeon |
| Institutions | St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital Texas Children's Hospital University of Texas Medical School |
| Specialism | Cardiovascular surgery |
| Known for | Performing the first successful heart transplant in the United States First clinical implantation of a total artificial heart |
| Education | University of Texas, Johns Hopkins Hospital. |
Denton A. Cooley (born August 22, 1920) is a pioneering American heart surgeon.
He graduated in 1941 from the University of Texas and went on to complete his medical degree and his surgical training at Johns Hopkins. Following his graduation he went to London to work with Lord Russell Brock.
He performed a successful human heart transplant in the United States in 1968. In 1969, he became the first heart surgeon to implant an artificial heart designed by Dr Domingo Liotta in a man.
Cooley and his associates have performed more than 100,000 open heart operations--more than any other group in the world. Denton Cooley has been in a band of doctors called the heartbeats. He played the string bass. In highschool, he played basketball. When he was younger, he discovered that he very much enjoyed golf. He has been golfing for 66 years. In the HBO film Something the Lord Made, Dr. Cooley was portrayed by Timothy J. Scanlin, Jr.
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.”
During the 2000 U.S. Presidential Elections Dr. Cooley was asked by then candidate George W. Bush to review VP candidate Dick Cheney's medical records, particularly concerning the status of his chronic heart condition.
Dr. Denton Cooley and the legendary heart surgeon, Dr. Michael E. DeBakey had a professional rivalry that lasted more than 50 years. They recently made amends in a public rapprochement on November 7, 2007 when DeBakey was 99 years old and Cooley was 87.[1]
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[edit] Honors and awards
- The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award
- The Rene Leriche Prize, the highest honor of the International Surgical Society
- The National Medal of Technology
- He is a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Department of Medical Sciences.
In addition, Cooley has authored or co-authored more than 1,300 scientific articles and 13 books.
[edit] Quotes
- "I've always felt that I did well as a student because I lacked confidence."
[edit] References
- ^ Ackerman, Todd (2007-11-07). Top heart surgeons Cooley and DeBakey put their decades-old feud to rest. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
[edit] External links
- Denton A. Cooley, MD. Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital
- The Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society
- Find-A-Grave profile for Denton Cooley although still living his biography is on this site
