Top Moments
1970s
Dominance in Heart Care
The innovation of coronary-bypass surgery made Cleveland Clinic a world-recognized center in cardiac surgery by the mid-1970s. Floyd Loop, MD, who became Chairman of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery in 1975, continued the development of coronary surgery and greatly enhanced the academic profile of Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Loop began to recruit physicians nationwide, including Toby Cosgrove, MD, from Massachusetts General Hospital. Also during the 1970s, Cleveland Clinic began attracting increasing numbers of international patients, particularly from the Middle East, including Crown Prince Khalid of Saudi Arabia, who came to Cleveland Clinic for coronary artery bypass surgery in 1972.
In 1970, the first class graduates from the School of Nurse Anesthesia. The Cleveland Clinic School of Nurse Anesthesia was a two-year certificate program for graduate nurses.
In 1971, Floyd Loop, MD, identifies the mammary artery as the preferred conduit for bypass surgery. As a result, bypass surgery undergoes one of its most important refinements, as the mammary artery produces better results than using a vein from the leg.
Thomas Meaney, MD, Chair of the Division of Radiology from the 1960s to the 1980s, helped Cleveland Clinic acquire a CT scanner in 1972, which at that time, was one of only four in existence. This was strictly a neruoimager. Ten months later, Cleveland Clinic acquired a CT scanner for body imaging. Dr. Meany urged Cleveland Clinic to buy a pioneering MRI machine in 1983, and Cleveland Clinic radiologists led the way in developing the technology.
First computerized medical data registry
In 1972, the world’s first computerized data registry for cardiac diagnosis and care is unveiled. Pioneered by Cleveland Clinic’s William Proudfit, MD, William Sheldon, MD, Floyd Loop, MD, and Emily Wagstaff, RN, the first computerized medical database replaces paper records of Cleveland Clinic’s procedures and outcomes, marking the beginning of data-driven care. Today, the database is the largest continuous cardiovascular registry in the world. It has transformed the medical landscape by allowing physicians to understand and provide better diagnoses and treatments for their patients. A patient care registry is also developed for colon cancer (now the Jagelman Registry).
Arthur S Holden, Jr. succeeds James A Hughes as Chair of the Board of Trustees in 1973.
Elton Hoyt, III succeeds E. Tom Meyer as President of Cleveland Clinic Foundation in 1973.
First CAT scan in Ohio
On January 6, 1974, Cleveland Clinic performs the first CAT scan in Ohio, fourth in the world.
James A Hughes succeeds Elton Hoyt, III as President of Cleveland Clinic Foundation in 1974.
Harry T Marks succeeds James A Huges as President of Cleveland Clinic Foundation in 1975.
William S Kiser, MD, succeeds Carl E Wasmuth, MD, as Chair of the Board of Governors in 1976.
In 1977, Cleveland Clinic physicians perform the hospital’s first bone marrow transplant.
LVAD with centrifugal pump installed successfully
In 1979, Leonard Golding, MD, successfully installs a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) with a centrifugal pump, used to bridge patients until a donor heart becomes available or, increasingly, as a long-term alternative to transplantation.
In association with Norma Gill, RN (an ileostomy patient), Rupert Turnbull, MD, created and named the field of enterostomal therapy. Dr. Turnbull was an important figure in the history of colorectal surgery, a world authority on ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, and founded the first school for the care and treatment of patients with external stomas – now a recognized nursing specialty.
