Doctor pumps up students

As part of Wednesday’s 37th annual UNC Student Research Day, medical students were treated to a lecture by one of America’s living legends — Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, an internationally recognized physician and surgeon.

DeBakey has invented numerous procedures and devices for the field of cardiology, including the artificial heart and bypass surgery. He started mobile army surgical hospitals, the Veterans Administration Medical System and the National Library of Medicine.

A scientific advisor to nearly every president for the past 50 years and heads-of-state worldwide, DeBakey has also operated on celebrities, dignitaries, princes and paupers and received numerous awards and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction — the highest honor a U.S. citizen can receive — from President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1969.

And at 96 years, DeBakey isn’t looking to slow down anytime soon.

“We’re so excited to have him here,” said Jennifer Solms, a fourth-year medical student and the co-president of the John B. Graham Student Research Society. “He’s in great health — I’ve had to move quickly today to keep up with him.”

DeBakey, who earned his bachelor’s, master’s and medical degrees at Tulane University in New Orleans, said he always aspired to be a doctor.

“Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a doctor. I honestly can’t tell you why,” he said.

Born in Lake Charles, La., DeBakey said early interactions with doctors might have influenced his future.

“My father was a druggist, and physicians came by often. I had a tremendous amount of respect for them, and I thought they were wonderful people,” he said.

DeBakey’s long medical career has produced countless contributions to the medical field. He has over 1,600 publications and has invented and perfected numerous medical devices, techniques and procedures. Heart transplants, Dacron arteries --— the first of which he stitched on his wife’s sewing machine — and the roller pump are just a few of his best-known developments.

Asked to name his most important invention, though, DeBakey said he would have to leave that up to others. He did name innovative procedures for arterial disease and stroke treatment as ranking high on the list.

“Research is very fulfilling,” DeBakey said. “You can deal with your frustrations and patients’ problems that you can’t solve. I enjoy that aspect of my work very much,” he said.

But in spite of his numerous research contributions, DeBakey said the human relationship is the most satisfying part of his work.

“A patient that’s dying comes in, and you’re able to restore him to good health. There’s no reward that can estimate that,” he said.

DeBakey has performed over 60,000 cardiovascular procedures and has treated patients including Boris Yeltsin, the Duke of Windsor, Jerry Lewis, Marlene Dietrich and the Shah of Iran.

And even though DeBakey said there is heightened pressure, mainly from the media, in working with celebrities, his job remains the same.

“Once the incision is made, there’s no difference between famous patients and everybody else,” he said.

DeBakey currently serves as chancellor emeritus, distinguished service professor and Olga Keith Weiss professor of surgery and director of the DeBakey Heart Center at the Baylor College of Medicine.

Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.