Pediatric heart transplant pioneer to keynote AAID Annual Conference

July 11, 2016
Dedication to patient care can change lives forever for the better

Dedication to patient care can change lives forever for the better

Leonard Bailey, MD, the pioneer of heart transplantation in babies, will present the opening keynote address at AAID’s 2016 Annual Educational Conference to be held in New Orleans, beginning on October 26, 2016. His presentation, entitled “The Evolution of Newborn Heart Transplantation,” will take place on Thursday, October 27, 2016, from 1:30 to 2:30 pm.

More information about the Annual Education Conference can be found online. Registration for the Annual Conference is open and those who register by September 20, 2016 save $100 on the full registration fee for dentists.

Dr. Bailey developed a vision for infant heart transplantation during his residency program when he saw that otherwise perfect babies were dying from hypoplastic left heart syndrome—a congenital heart defect that defied successful reconstructive heart surgery. He performed over 200 experimental transplantations in infant research animals to determine the feasibility of transplantation in the very young. His first human transplant was performed in October 1984 when he transplanted a baboon heart into the infant known as Baby Fae. His vision became a reality in November 1985, when he performed the first successful human-to-human heart transplantation in a newborn baby.

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Although transplantation remains a small portion of Dr. Bailey's practice, he remains actively engaged in this complex practice. This is a testament to Dr. Bailey’s dedication and how patient care can change lives forever for the better.

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The American Academy of Implant Dentistry

Established in 1951, the AAID is the only dental implant organization that offers credentials recognized by state and federal courts as being bona fide. Its membership, which exceeds 5,500, includes general dentists, oral surgeons, periodontists, and prosthodontists from across the United States and in more than 60 other countries.