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This is the fourth of five manuscripts reviewing the historical origins of some of the more commonly used surgical instruments and takes ''time out'' to remind current surgeons about the surgical pioneers on whose shoulders they now stand and whose inventions they now use.
SPRING FORCEPS, INSTRUMENTS manufactured by bending a piece of metal strip or rod about the middle to create a dynamic spring for the jaws, have evolved to mimic the opposing thumb and index finger of the surgeon and extend his or her hand.1 Many believed that forceps were originally designed by blacksmiths for forging metal, but over time, this instrument has become an integral surgical instrument for grasping and manipulating tissues with fine precision.
DeBakey-A Surgical Legend
Although there are many types of forceps, perhaps none have so influenced modern surgery as the DeBakey forceps.
Michael Ellis DeBakey (1908 to 2008), the son of Lebanese immigrants, was born as Michael Debaghi in Lake Charles, Louisiana2 (Fig. 1). This future surgeon, scientist, and innovator of modern cardiac and peripheral vascular surgery had the virtues of leadership and excellence pressed on him from birth by his hardworking parents. From a young age, Michael DeBakey was dedicated to self-learning, self-discipline, and precise organization. His father, Shaker DeBakey, owned two pharmacies and, by providing this early exposure to medicine, sparked DeBakey's interest in medicine.2
DeBakey obtained Bachelor's and Master degrees from Tulane University in New Orleans. He then matriculated to Tulane University's medical school where he graduated with High Honors (1932). During his medical school surgical rotation, he was mentored by Dr. Alton Oschner, the Chairman of the Surgical Department, and published several scientific articles including the very first study to associate lung cancer with smoking.2 In addition to conducting research in his free time, he assisted Dr. Rudolph Matas, a pioneer of aneurysm surgery, to organize his library and translate journal articles from French to English.2 Access to this library, a ravenous reading habit, and an unparalleled inventive mind allowed him to develop a roller pump to facilitate blood transfusions, which later became part of Dr. John Gibbon's revolutionary heart-lung machine (1953).2
Although already accomplished as a medical student, DeBakey went on to complete a 2-year surgical training program at Charity Hospital in...