Denton Cooley / interviewed by Neil Grauer and Jay Corey.
Records of Johns Hopkins Medicine, Office of Marketing and Communications, item no. 295510.

Date: 2008-07-31

Creator: Cooley, Denton A., 1920-2016
Grauer, Neil A.
Corey, Jay

Extent: 1 video file (4.4 GB, 1080p MP4 format). Proxy file.

Description: In this interview, Denton Cooley, pioneering heart surgeon and founder of the Texas Heart Institute, describes his medical education and training at Johns Hopkins, his thoughts on famous Johns Hopkins surgeons such as Alfred Blalock and Walter Dandy, his illustrious career, and his ties to Johns Hopkins as a distinguished alumnus and donor.

Dr. Cooley begins by describing how he came to Johns Hopkins from the University of Texas in Galveston, and how his association with director of Surgery Alfred Blalock changed his life and made him decide upon a career in cardiovascular surgery. He also gives his thoughts on the role that Johns Hopkins has played in the history of medical education, research, and patient care.

Dr. Cooley explains how Dr. Blalock was inspiring to him as an innovator in surgery and how he admired his approach to solving unique problems of surgical cases. He also discusses surgical technician Vivien Thomas, whom he praises as a skillful technician who developed innovative techniques and instruments to complete surgical objectives with simplicity and independence. On a personal note, Dr. Cooley describes Dr. Blalock as a very warm and kind man outside of the operating room. He describes Dr. Helen Tuassig, pediatric cardiologist, as a friend who he got along well with, but that she and Dr. Blalock had a competitive relationship. He also suggests that Dr. Taussig was not fully supportive of new diagnostic technologies of the time such as angiography and catheterization.

Dr. Cooley describes the first "blue baby" operation performed at Johns Hopkins, in which he participated as an intern. He describes the well-told story of how Dr. Blalock asked Vivien Thomas, who was standing behind him, for advice during the course of the procedure. Dr. Cooley suggests that although Dr. Blalock knew what he was going to do in the operation, he liked to have everyone feel like they were a part of the team. He also describes how the patient's color turned from blue to pink when the clamp was removed from the subclavian artery.

Dr. Cooley explains why he has been a generous donor to Johns Hopkins, and why he decided to fund the creation of a recreation center (now called the Denton Cooley Center) on the medical campus.

Dr. Cooley then discusses his recent retirement from active surgery, noting how as chief of surgery he still makes rounds every morning in the intensive care unit at the hospital to look over all of the patients who have underwent heart surgery. He describes how rewarding it is to hear from previous patients, and how many trainees from his heart institute were practicing surgery all around the country and the world.

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