On April 22, 1966, DeBakey implanted his left ventricular assist device into a 65 year old coal miner with a badly damaged heart. The device worked very well, but the patient died five days later. The operation was enthusiastically covered in the press, which led some of DeBakey's medical colleagues, including Dr. Bricker, to accuse him of seeking publicity. At the time, it was contrary to the AMA's ethical standards for physicians to advertise their services or to allow sensational press coverage of their activities, among other things.
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