A world-renowned medical pioneer in heart surgery.

Dr Denton Cooley is perhaps most famous for performing the first implantation of a total artificial heart. However, his achievements and dedication to the field of cardiothoracic surgery span a lifetime! His skill as a surgeon were clearly demonstrated by successfully performing numerous bloodless open-heart surgeries on Jehovah’s witness patients. At Johns Hopkins Hospital he worked alongside Dr Alfred Blalock in performing the first “Blue Baby” procedure to correct an infant’s congenital heart defect. During the 1960’s Denton’s influential work in developing new artificial heart valves saw a dramatic fall in mortality rates for such procedures, and in 1962 Dr Cooley founded the Texas Heart Institute in which his legacy lives on today.

The skills and dedication of such pioneers is formidable but let them be an inspiration to you! One day we might be posting your name on here 😉