1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
The Methodist Hospital opens its doors.
1919
Houston's first blood transfusions performed at The Methodist Hospital.
First brain tumor surgery at The Methodist Hospital.
1935
To support World War II, The Methodist Hospital graduated nurses at record rates.
1944
World-renowned cardiac surgeon Dr. Michael E. DeBakey completes the first successful removal and replacement of an aortic aneurysm, performs the first successful carotid endarterectomy and innovates the first Dacron graft.
1953
1963
First kidney transplant in Texas takes place at The Methodist Hospital.
1965
The Methodist Hospital takes center stage nationally with the first live surgery broadcast and internationally with prominent patients from Belgium and United Kingdom.
1968
First multiorgan transplant – the operation requires five surgical teams comprised of 70 doctors, nurses and technicians to transplant the heart, lungs and kidneys of one donor into four men.
Interventional cardiology is born when angioplasty is first performed at The Methodist Hospital.
1985
The Methodist Hospital's first liver transplant and The Methodist Hospital performs Texas' first heart-lung transplant.
1998
Dr. Michael Reardon pioneers the groundbreaking autotransplant surgery for cardiac malignancy. Reardon, who trained under DeBakey, removes a cardiac malignancy by removing the heart from 20-year-old Guy Altmann’s body in order to access the back part of the organ, which is very difficult to reach.
2002
The Methodist Hospital receives the prestigious Magnet distinction for nursing, for the first time.
2012
The Methodist Hospital System participates in a 60-person organ transplant swap coordinating with 17 hospitals across 11 states.
2013
The Methodist Hospital becomes Houston Methodist. At the time, Methodist is Houston’s third largest health care system. The new name emphasizes the pride the organization feels in being from Houston and reminds everyone that the system’s hospitals in the Houston area are nationally recognized as top centers for medical care, research and education.
2015
Plato’s CAVE, multidimensional imaging technology, invented at Houston Methodist.
Houston Methodist becomes a national leader during COVID-19, leading the nation with monoclonal therapies, vaccinations and our strong stance that protecting our staff, patients and the community was paramount.
2023
Houston Methodist completes its 10,000th organ transplant.
Click on the timeline points to expand. Use the arrows to scoll along the timeline.
2025
Houston Methodist will open its first “smart” hospital in Cypress, equipped with technologically advanced innovations implemented during COVID-19, many of them designed to make patient communication with physicians, staff and families the very best and most effective in any health care facility.