When Was the First Heart Bypass Surgery?

Coronary artery bypass grafting addresses blocked heart arteries by rerouting blood flow through a healthy vessel grafted from elsewhere in the body (typically the saphenous vein from the leg or the internal mammary artery from the chest). Dr Robert Goetz performed the first successful CABG in May 1960 using a mechanical anastomosis ring. However, the procedure gained widespread clinical acceptance after Dr Rene Favalero at the Cleveland Clinic popularised the saphenous vein graft technique in 1967-1968. The development of the heart-lung bypass machine by John Gibbon in 1953 was the crucial enabling technology, allowing the heart to be stopped during surgery. Today, CABG remains one of the most common major surgeries worldwide, with about 200,000-400,000 performed annually in the US alone. Minimally invasive and off-pump (beating heart) techniques have since reduced recovery times.