Texas Children’s Celebrates American Heart Month

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Feb 15, 2011, 09:24 ET

HOUSTON, Feb. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- During American Heart Month, Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr., chief of congenital heart surgery and surgeon-in-chief at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston pays tribute to heart pioneer Dr. Denton A. Cooley, who became Texas Children's first chief of cardiovascular surgery when the hospital opened its doors in 1954. Dr. Cooley, already famed for adult cardiac surgeries, performed the first congenital heart surgeries at Texas Children's on babies born with complex heart defects. Dr. Fraser, who joined the hospital in 1995, has built multi-disciplined surgical teams dedicated exclusively to pediatric congenital heart surgery. Dr. Fraser's teams, recognized for surgical outcomes greater than 98 percent, continue to advance the historic legacy set by Dr. Cooley's innovations. Combined, the two famous heart surgeons have performed more than 23,700 cases during Texas Children's 57 years of pediatric heart surgery.