Houston's own Dr. Denton Cooley has been named the most innovative surgeon alive.
Healthcare-Administration-Degree.net profiled 20 groundbreaking surgeons from around the globe, emphasizing their educational backgrounds and accomplishments in the medical field. Cooley, arguably the world's most famous cardiovascular surgeon, was placed at No. 1 on the prestigious list that included many medical pioneers.
Cooley is best known for performing the first successful human heart transplant in the United States, as well as the first total artificial heart transplant in the world.
He also founded and is the chair of the Texas Heart Institute, currently serves as a cardiovascular surgery consultant for Texas Children's Hospital, teaches at the University of Texas Health Science Center, and is the cardiovascular surgery chair at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital.
Cooley infamously had a sometimes bitter rivalry with fellow Houston surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey that lasted more than 40 years until the two finally reconciled in 2007.
During his nearly 60-year career as a cardiovascular surgeon, Cooley and his team performed more than 109,600 open-heart procedures before his retirement in 2006.
Texas Medical Center's own Dr. Denton Cooley was just named the "Most Innovative Surgeon Alive."
