When was the first successful heart bypass surgery performed?

The first successful coronary artery bypass surgery is credited to Robert Goetz in 1960, when he performed a bypass operation using a segment of artery to reroute blood flow around a blocked coronary vessel. Later, in the late 1960s, surgeons such as René Favaloro refined the procedure and made it widely practical. Coronary bypass surgery became a life-saving treatment for severe heart disease. It remains one of the most important operations in cardiac surgery.