Google honors surgeon Rene Favaloro with a new Doodle

July 12 (UPI) -- Google is celebrating what would have been the 96th birthday of surgeon Dr. Rene Favaloro with a new Doodle.

Favaloro is known for introducing coronary artery bypass surgery into the medical field.

The surgeon was born in La Plata, Argentina in 1923. He served as a country doctor with experience leading him to believe that healthcare is a basic human right regardless of economic standing.

Favaloro went to the United States in 1962 to practice at the Cleveland Clinic, teaming up with Mason Sones, a pioneer of cineangiography which is the reading of coronary and ventricular images.

Favaloro, after becoming convinced that coronary artery bypass grafting could be done, operated on a 51-year-old woman who had blockage in her right coronary artery in 1967. The operation was a success with Favaloro stopping her heart and using a vein from her leg to redirect blood flow around the blockage.

The historic procedure has gone on to save countless lives ever since. Favaloro returned to Argentina in the 1970s where he opened up the Favaloro Foundation, a place where patients are taken care of regardless of price.

Google's homepage features artwork of Favaloro by artist Lydia Nichols which also includes a heart.