On Nov. 23, 1964, Dr. Michael DeBakey and Jimmy Howell performed the first successful coronary artery bypass graft procedure. The first transplant patient, Everett Thomas, lived for 204 days with the heart donated from a fifteen-year-old girl. The surgery used techniques perfected on animals.

On December 16, 1964, the Duke of Windsor was referred to DeBakey for repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Asked by the press when he returned for a follow-up visit a year later why he came to Houston to see Dr. DeBakey, the Duke replied, “Because he is the maestro.” Shortly thereafter, Dr. DeBakey’s picture appeared on the May 28, 1965 cover of Time magazine. The accompanying story identified DeBakey as the “Texas Tornado.”

It was that same year that Drs. Edward B. Dietrich and George P. Noon finished their cardiovascular surgical training and joined DeBakey. While Dietrich chose to leave in 1970 with Dr. Sam Kinard to establish the Arizona Heart Institute in Phoenix, Noon teamed with DeBakey to become known internationally for his pioneering research and clinical expertise in organ transplantation and assist devices

In 1968, DeBakey performed the first of 12 heart transplants. Dr. DeBakey worked with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to develop a self-contained, miniaturized artificial heart.

In 1969, President Johnson awarded DeBakey the Presidential Medal of Freedom.