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A 1932 Hahnemann alumnus and Professor of Thoracic Surgery from 1940 to1958, Dr. Bailey was a pioneer in heart surgery. In 1948 he performed the first successful closed heart repair of stenosis of the mitral valve, which he named “commissurotomy.” He developed many new techniques and instruments, and his 1955 book, Surgery of the Heart, defined the state-of-the-art at that time.
Dr. Bailey was an early member of Hahnemann’s Cardiovascular Institute, formed in 1948, and successfully found significant funding to support this important effort. In 1950 he was named head of Hahnemann’s new Department of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Bailey was a founder of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and his contributions to his field earned him a place on the cover of TIME magazine in 1957. His work has been credited with contributing to the transformation of Hahnemann into a major academic medical center. After leaving Hahnemann, Dr. Bailey earned a law degree and went on to become an expert in medical malpractice.