James L. Cox, MD, is an American cardiothoracic surgeon and medical innovator best known for the development of the Cox maze procedure

Cox maze procedure

The Cox maze procedure is a type of heart surgery for atrial fibrillation."Maze" refers to the series of incisions arranged in a maze-like pattern in the atria...

 for treatment of atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia . It is a common cause of irregular heart beat, identified clinically by taking a pulse. Chaotic electrical activity in the two upper chambers of the heart result in the muscle fibrillating , instead of achieving coordinated contraction...

.

Early background

James Cox started his college education on a baseball scholarship at the University of Mississippi

University of Mississippi

The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...

. On the day he received an offer to play professional baseball with the Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

 he also received his acceptance to medical school at the University of Tennessee

University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

. He wanted to be a surgeon, so he chose medical school. He received his MD from Tennessee and began his surgical residency at Duke University

Duke University

Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...

 in 1967. He served with the US Army medical corps

Medical Corps (United States Army)

The Medical Corps of the U.S. Army is a staff corps of the U.S. Army Medical Department consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an MD or a DO degree, at least one year of post-graduate clinical training, and a state medical license.The MC traces its earliest origins...

 from 1970 through 1972, then returned to Duke to finish his residency and surgical training, under the direction of David Sabiston

David Sabiston

David Coston Sabiston, Jr., M.D.,, F.A.C.S. 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...

. He join the faculty as an assistant professor of surgery in 1978.

Medical career and innovation

Cox advanced to associate professor of surgery at Duke in 1982, then in 1983 he moved to the Washington University School of Medicine

Washington University School of Medicine

Washington University School of Medicine , located in St. Louis, Missouri, is one of the graduate schools of Washington University in St. Louis. One of the top medical schools in the United States, it is currently ranked 4th for research according to U.S. News and World Report and has been listed...

 in St. Louis, where he became Professor and Chief, CardioThoracic Surgery. Specializing in surgeries for cardiac arrhythmias, in 1987 he first performed his eponymous "maze" procedure, which was recognized as the first cure for atrial fibrillation. From 1990 to 1997 he was Evarts A. Graham Professor of Surgery at Washington University.

In 1997 Cox moved to Georgetown University

Georgetown University

Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...

 to become chairman of the department of cardiothoracic surgery. Shortly afterward he was forced by knee problems to give up surgery and he retired in 2000. He continued his active role in cardiology, serving as director on professional boards and as editor of two journals of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery

American Association for Thoracic Surgery

The American Association for Thoracic Surgery is an international association of cardiothoracic surgeons. It was founded in 1917 by the earliest pioneers in the field of thoracic surgery. Headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, it has over 1,200 members from 35 countries...

.

In 2005 Cox became Emeritus Evarts A. Graham Professor of Surgery at Washington University. He currently serves as chairman and CEO of the World Heart Foundation and was the Medical Director for the ATS Medical

ATS Medical

ATS Medical, Inc. , based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a developer and manufacturer of products and services for the cardiac surgery market. The publicly traded company was founded in 1992 by Manny Villafana, a noted entrepreneur in the cardiology/cardiac surgery industry...

 division of Medtronic

Medtronic

Medtronic, Inc. , based in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the world's largest medical technology company and is a Fortune 500 company.- History :...

until 2010.

Honors and awards

• one of 30 "Pioneers in Cardiothoracic Surgery for the First 50 Years of the Specialty", Paris 2000
• Ray C. Fish Award for Scientific Achievement in Cardiovascular Diseases, 2004
• Elected to the Russian Academy of Medical Science, 2005