Denton Cooley

Denton A. Cooley
Born	August 22, 1920 (1920-08-22) (age 89)
Profession	Surgeon
Institutions	St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital Texas Children's Hospital The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Specialism	Cardiovascular surgery
Known for	Performing the first successful heart transplant in the United States First clinical implantation of a total artificial heart
Education	University of Texas Medical Branch Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Denton Arthur Cooley (born August 22, 1920) is a pioneering American heart surgeon.

He is a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity - Tau Chapter and graduated in 1941 from the University of Texas, then began his medical education at the University of Texas Medical Branch - Galveston and then went on to complete his medical degree and his surgical training at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Following his graduation he went to London to work with Lord Russell Brock.

In 1969, he became the first heart surgeon to inplant an artificial heart designed by Dr Domingo Liotta in a man. The patient, Haskell Karp, lived for 65 hours on artificial heart.^[1] Cooley and his associates have performed more than 100,000 operations—more than any other group in the world.

In high school, he played basketball. When he was younger, he discovered that he very much enjoyed golf. He has been golfing for 68 years.

In the HBO film Something The Lord Made, Dr. Cooley was portrayed by Timothy J. Scanlin, Jr.

Cooley reportedly answered in the affirmative when a lawyer during a trial asked him if he considered himself to be the best heart surgeon in the world. “Don’t you think that’s being rather immodest?” the lawyer replied. “Perhaps,” Dr. Cooley responded. “But remember I’m under oath.”

Cooley filed for bankruptcy in 1988 citing real estate debts during a market downturn.^[2]

During the 2000 U.S. Presidential Elections, Dr. Cooley was asked by then candidate George W. Bush to review VP candidate Dick Cheney's medical records, particularly concerning the status of his chronic heart condition.

Cooley and the legendary heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey had a professional rivalry that lasted more than 40 years. They made amends in a public rapprochement on November 7, 2007, when DeBakey was 99 years old (Cooley was 87).^[3]

Honors and awards

• The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award
• The René Leriche Prize, the highest honor of the International Surgical Society
• The National Medal of Technology
• He is a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Department of Medical Sciences.

In addition, Cooley has authored or co-authored more than 1,300 scientific articles and 13 books.

Quotes

• "I've always felt that I did well as a student because I lacked confidence."

References

External links

• Video: Cooley Medical Pioneers Biography on Health.mil – The Military Health System provides a look at the life and work of Denton Cooley.
• Denton A. Cooley, MD. Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital
• The Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society
• Find-A-Grave profile for Denton Cooley although still living his biography is on this site