Heart transplant pioneer honored

WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- Dr. Michael DeBakey, 99-year-old pioneer of the life-saving heart bypass surgery, was saluted in an elaborate ceremony at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

U.S. President Bush and congressional leaders Wednesday bestowed Congress' highest civilian award on the renowned Houston doctor, the Congressional Gold Medal, for a lifetime of achievement in medicine, including his cardiac surgery advances, the Houston Chronicle said.

DeBakey, who helped create the military's Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals and invented many medical devices and procedures, thanked them for the honors then launched into his campaign to overhaul Medicare and Medicaid systems using the Veterans Administration's medical system as a model.