caption death_date death_place birth_place citizenship influences image_size nationality field work_institutions birth_date known_for residence image article_title name alma_mater
dr. david sabiston january 2009 -lrb- age 84 -rrb- durham , north carolina jacksonville , north carolina u.s. alfred blalock 150px u.s. physician ; surgeon ; educator ; author johns hopkins university ; duke university october 1924 research in cardiothoracic surgery durham , nc david coston sabiston , md.jpg david sabiston
 david c. sabiston , jr. , m.d. university hopkins university -lrb- m.d. -rrb- of north carolina -lrb- b.s. -rrb- ; johns
david sabiston

david coston sabiston , jr. , m.d. , f.a.c.s. -lrb- october 4 , 1924 -- january 26 , 2009 -rrb- was an early innovator in cardiac surgery .
in 1962 , he performed a seminal procedure that paved the way for modern coronary-bypass surgery , grafting a vein from a patient 's leg to bypass a blocked coronary artery during open-heart surgery .
the patient died from unrelated complications , but sabiston 's technique and other surgeons ' improvements on it led to the development of surgical coronary revascularization as it exists today .
