|
| 1960 | Deborah Lois Erickson undergoes open-heart surgery at Baptist Memorial Hospital, the first such surgery performed at the hospital. |
 |
| 1968 | The first coronary artery bypass surgery in Memphis is performed at Baptist.
|
|
| 1971 | A dedicated cardiac catheterization laboratory opens at Baptist.
|
|
| 1985 | Baptist physicians perform the first heart transplant in Memphis on Oct. 7.
|
|
| 1985 | Researchers at Baptist begin studying a new pacemaker that senses the activity of the body and increases the pulse rate accordingly.
|
|
| 1986 | On Oct. 29, a team of Baptist physicians perform Memphis' first implant of an automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator, a system that monitors heart activity and treats abnormal heart rhythms by administering an electrical shock directly to the heart.
|
|
| 1987 | Surgeons begin using the acute ventricular assist device (AVAD), an experimental device that can temporarily assist a patient's heart circulation until it has recovered sufficiently on its own.
|
|
| 1996 | The heart transplant program at Baptist receives Medicare approval from the Health Care Financing Administration, making Baptist the only Medicare-certified adult heart transplant provider in Memphis.
|
|
| 1996 | The first cardiomyoplasty in the Mid-South is performed at Baptist on April 15.
|
|
| 1996 | The first endoscopic staphenous vein harvest of its type in the United States is performed at Baptist on April 25.
|
|
| 1996 | On Nov. 21, Baptist physicians become the first in the Mid-South to successfully implant the HeartMate® ventricular assist device (VAD), a prototype for a permanent VAD operated by the battery in the home.
|
|
| 1997 | Baptist becomes the only site in the Mid-South to recruit patients for a National Institutes of Health study to determine if sudden cardiac death from heart failure can be prevented by the use of an implantable defibrillator.
|
|
| 1997 | Surgeons at Baptist join several new studies attempting to refine minimally invasive techniques through which coronary artery bypass surgery, valve replacements, and other cardiac procedures can be performed without opening the sternum.
|
|
| 2000 | Baptist begins studies of Oxygent, an article blood supplement that could decrease the need for blood transfusions during trauma situations and surgery - paving the way for "bloodless" surgery and lessening the demand on the nation's overburdened blood banks.
|
|
| 2001 | Physicians at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis became the first in the nation to perform radial brachytherapy - a procedure that uses radiation to keep scar tissue from growing and clogging the coronary artery after balloon angioplasty or stent implantation. With this coronary catheterization procedure, cardiologists apply radiation inside the coronary artery through the radial artery, located in the wrist.
|
|
| 2001 | The Baptist Heart Institute opens. Located on the concourse level, first and second floors of Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis, the Heart Institute combines all cardiovascular services in one area to support high-quality care, research, education and data management. |
|
| 2003 | Surgeons at the Baptist Heart Institute perform the program’s 200th heart transplant.
|
|
| 2004 | The Baptist Heart Institute becomes the first Mid-South health care facility to offer Stereotaxis, or computer-controlled magnetic heart catheterization. (Heart catheterization is performed to obtain diagnostic information about the heart or its blood vessels or to provide treatment in certain types of heart conditions.) Using Stereotaxis, Baptist physicians are able to digitally steer the catheter — giving them more control and accuracy. The improved navigation allows physicians to access hard-to-reach areas that were inaccessible without Stereotaxis.
|
|
| 2005 | A Baptist heart surgeon becomes the first in Memphis to perform a type of open heart surgery – mitral valve repair – without opening the chest, using the da Vinci® Robotic Surgical System. The da Vinci allows surgeons to perform major surgeries by making only small incisions. It has four arms–one with a magnifying camera attached. With the device, surgeons make four small incisions, inserting the arms into the incisions to perform surgeries. The da Vinci can be used for open-heart, gynecologic, prostate, urologic and other surgical procedures.
|
|
| 2005 | Baptist’s transplant program celebrates its 20th anniversary. Since the program began in 1985, Baptist physicians have performed more than 230 heart transplants, and 65 percent of these patients are still alive. Baptist continues to meet or exceed national 1-, 5-, and 10-year heart transplant survival rates. The Baptist transplant program also has added equipment that has helped patients live longer while awaiting donor hearts.
|
Health Care Services 
Top of Page