WASHINGTON – Houston heart surgeon and Arab American Dr. Michael DeBakey, a pioneer of life-saving bypass surgery, received the nation’s highest civilian honor this week.

Dr. DeBakey, 99, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for a lifetime of achievement in medicine, including his cardiac surgery advances, helping create the military’s Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals and inventing many medical devices and procedures.

President Bush, bestowing the award in a Capitol ceremony, noted that the medal has rarely been given to scientists. But those Congress have recognized are “iconic,” including Thomas Edison and Walter Reed.

“Today we gather to recognize that Michael DeBakey’s name belongs among them,” Mr. Bush said. “His legacy is holding the fragile and sacred gift of human life in his hands — and returning it unbroken.”

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who has pushed for the honor for Dr. DeBakey since 2004, called him a “legend in the field of medicine.”

“Today, our pride is in you, Dr. DeBakey, as we recognize your extraordinary impact on America and the world,” the Texas Republican said. Her colleague, Sen. John Cornyn, also attended the ceremony.

Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, said that Dr. DeBakey’s contribution shows “that one person can not only impact the world but that one person can change the world for the good of all.”

Dr. DeBakey took the opportunity to urge Congress to do more to provide health care for the poor.

He called on lawmakers to consider the model of the Veterans Administration, which provides higher-quality care at lower costs than many other medical services.

“There must be something about what they are doing that we can use to expand health care for the needy,” he said.

Born Michel Dabaghi, his parents, Shaker Morris DeBakey and Raheehja Zorba, were Lebanese immigrants. He received his bachelor’s and M.D. degrees from Tulane University in New Orleans.

Dr. DeBakey is best known for his pioneering work in cardiovascular surgery. In 1948, Dr. DeBakey moved to Houston, Texas, and became chairman of the Cora and Webb Mading Department of Surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine (at that time called Baylor University College of Medicine). Dr. DeBakey was one of the first to perform coronary artery bypass surgery, and in 1953 he performed the first successful carotid endarterectomy. In recognition of his work, he received the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research in 1963. In 1965 Time Magazine featured Dr. DeBakey on its cover for his pioneering work and innovations in cardiovascular surgery and the artificial heart. In 1969, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1971, he was placed on the master list of Nixon political opponents.

To the amazement of his colleagues and patients, Dr. DeBakey continued to practice medicine into an age well after most others have retired. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan awarded him the National Medal of Science.

Dr. DeBakey has operated on more than 60,000 patients, including Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who called him “a magician of the heart” after Dr. DeBakey and a team of American cardiothoracic surgeons, including Dr. George Noon, supervised quintuple bypass surgery performed on Yeltsin by Russian surgeons in 1996.

Both the DeBakey High School for Health Professions and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston in the Texas Medical Center are named after him. Several atraumatic vascular surgical clamps and forceps that he introduced also bear his name.

He’s a Health Care Hall of Famer and a Lasker Luminary. He’s a recipient of The United Nations Lifetime Achievement Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction and The National Medal of Science. He was given the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Foundation for Biomedical Research and in 2000 was cited as a “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress.