De Bakey, Michael Ellis

De Bakey, Michael Ellis (də bā`kē), 1908–, American surgeon. While still at Tulane medical school (M.D., 1932), De Bakey developed an interest in problems relating to heart-lung machines, and he later made refinements in the technique of blood transfusions. In 1948, he became head of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Five years later, he made medical history by performing the first successful carotid endarterectomy. A pioneer in dacron-tube replacements for blood vessels, De Bakey revolutionized the surgery of aneurysms. In 1966, he implanted the first completely artificial heart (see heart, artificial) in a patient, but blood clotting problems led to failure.