Dr. Michael DeBakey's Long and Productive Life (2/2)

He developed a way to replace or repair blood vessels with Dacron, a stretchy manmade material.

He continued to improve on the process. Today the DeBakey artificial graft is used around the world.

He was also a pioneer in artificial hearts, heart transplants and recording surgeries on film. He revolutionized medicine in the nineteen fifties and sixties. During World War Two he helped develop the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, or MASH.

Michael DeBakey earned his medical degree in nineteen thirty-two from Tulane University in New Orleans. For years he led the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He joined the faculty in nineteen forty-eight when the school was still part of Baylor University. He became president of the medical college and supervised its separation from the university in nineteen sixty-nine.

Over the years he received many awards. In April, he received Congress' highest civilian" class="hjdict" word="civilian" target=_blank>civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal. Michael DeBakey continued his work until his death. He received a hero's burial last Friday at Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River from Washington.