Magdi Yacoub
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| Sir Magdi Habib Yacoub | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 November 1935 Cairo, Egypt |
| Profession | Surgeon |
| Institutions | University of Chicago Harefield Hospital |
| Specialism | Cardiothoracic surgery Heart transplantation |
| Known for | Heart and heart-lung transplants. |
| Education | Cairo University |
| Notable prizes | Knighthood |
Sir Magdi Habib Yacoub FRS (born 16 November 1935 in Belbis, Egypt), is an eminent heart surgeon. He was involved in the first UK heart transplant in 1980, carried out the first UK live lobe lung transplant and went on to perform more transplants than any other surgeon in the world. A 1980 patient Derrick Morris, was Europe's longest surviving heart transplant recipient until his death in July 2005.
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[edit] Early life and career
The son of a surgeon, Sir Magdi studied at Cairo University and qualified as a doctor in 1957. He reportedly said he decided to specialise in heart surgery after an aunt died of heart disease in her early 20s. He moved to Britain in 1962, then taught at Chicago University. He became a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Harefield Hospital in 1973.
[edit] The Harefield transplant programme
Under his leadership, the Harefield Hospital transplant programme began in 1980 and by the end of the decade he and his team had performed 1000 of the procedures and Harefield Hospital had become the leading UK transplant centre. During this period there was an increase in post operative survival rates, a reduction in the recovery periods spent in isolation and in the financial cost of each procedure. In order to remove donor hearts he would travel thousands of miles each year in small aircraft or helicopters. Most of his patients received treatment under the National Health Service, but some private foreign patients were also treated.
He was appointed professor at the National Heart and Lung Institute in 1986, and was involved in the development of the techniques of heart and heart-lung transplantation.
[edit] Recent work
Having retired from performing surgery in 2001 at the age of 65, Sir Magdi continues to act as a high profile consultant and ambassador for the benefits of transplant surgery.
In 2006 he briefly came out of retirement to advise on a complicated procedure which required removing a transplant heart from a patient whose own heart had recovered. The patient's original heart had not been removed during transplant surgery nearly a decade earlier in the off chance it might recover.[1]
In April 2007, it was reported that a British medical research team led by Sir Magdi had grown part of a human heart valve, from stem cells, a first.[2]
[edit] Other activities and achievements
- He is also notable for saving many lives by pioneering a technique for 'switching' the heart vessels of babies born with a congenital heart defect, which means they are the wrong way round.
- Among celebrities whose lives he extended was the comedian, Eric Morecambe.
- In 2002 he was selected to spearhead a government recruitment drive for overseas doctors.
- He has had a house named after him at The Petchey Academy which opened in September 2006.
[edit] Honours and award
- 1992 knighted by HM Queen Elizabeth II
- 1998 Texas Heart Institute Ray C. Fish Award for Scientific Achievement in Cardiovascular Disease
- 1999 Lifetime outstanding achievement award in recognition of contribution to medicine, Secretary of State for Health (UK)
- 2001 The Cleveland Clinic Foundation Heart Failure Summit : Kaufman Awardee
- 2003 Golden Hippocrates International Award for Excellence in Cardiac Surgery (Moscow)
- WHO Prize for Humanitarian Services
- 2004 International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2006 European Society of Cardiology Gold Medal
- 2007 Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Lifetime Achievement Award
[edit] Curriculum vitae
- 1957 Medical Bachelor, Cairo (Egypt)
- 1964-1968 Rotating Senior Surgical Registrar, National Heart and Chest Hospitals, London
- 1969 Instructor and Assistant Professor, University of Chicago (USA)
- 1973-2001 Consultant Cardiac Surgeon, National Heart Hospital-Royal Brompton and Harefield National Health Service (NHS) Trust, London
- 1986-2006 British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery
- 1986-present Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine
- 2001-present Founder and Director of Research of the Magdi Yacoub Research Institute, Harefield
[edit] References
- ^ Revolutionary heart op for girl. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
- ^ British team grows human heart valve from stem cells. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
