Cleveland Clinic - Medical Firsts

Medical Firsts

The Cleveland Clinic has been the site of numerous medical firsts, including:

• synthesis of angiotensin II (involved in high blood pressure)
• isolation of serotonin (involved in depression) by Dr. Irvine Page
• development of "no-touch" colorectal surgery
• promotion of conservative surgery for breast cancer in America
• invention of "washing-machine artificial kidney" dialysis machine
• first coronary angiography by F. Mason Sones in 1958
• first coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) by René Favaloro in 1967
• first minimally invasive aortic valve surgery
• first successful larynx transplant
• discovery of first gene linked to juvenile macular degeneration
• discovery of first gene linked to familial coronary artery disease
• first percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG)
• identification of carpal tunnel syndrome
• use of sodium nitroprusside in the clinical setting (for hypertension)
• first mitral valve repair and Maze procedure in the same operation
• first endovascular tricuspid valve implant
• first face transplant in the U.S. performed by a team led by Maria Siemionow
• first completed transvaginal Nephrectomy in 2009
• First successful pregnancy through the single-sperm freezing technique in 2011.