Alvin Aaron Bakst

1923 - 2011

The Bakst family and friends are bereaved by the passing of beloved Incline Village, Nev. and Rancho Mirage, Calif. thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon, Dr. Alvin A. Bakst, M.D. in the early morning hours of December 31, 2011. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Alvin Bakst graduated from New York University in 1942 and the New York University Medical College in 1944 before serving in the United States Navy from September 1944 through October 1946 as a Rank Lt. (j.g.) Regimental Surgeon, Fleet Marine Force, Seventh Service Regiment - FMF Pac. Following his service in the United States Navy, Alvin Bakst completed his Fellowship in Pathology at Mount Sinai Hospital, N.Y. in 1948, Assistant Residency in Surgery at New Haven Community Hospital, New Haven, Conn. in 1949, Assistant Residency as the Chief Resident in Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital, N.Y. in 1952, and Residency in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at Hahnemann Hospital and Medical College, Philadelphia, Penn. in 1955. He was licensed to practice medicine in New York, Arizona, California and Nevada, and received diplomas from the American Board of Surgery in 1953 and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery in Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery in 1954. Alvin Bakst was Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital of NY, 1961-1967, Chief of Vascular, Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital of NY, 1965-1970, Chief of Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Metropolitan Hospital, 1965-1970, Director of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Jewish Hospital and Medical Center of Brooklyn, NY, 1955-1973, Chief of Surgery, Chief of Vascular Surgery, John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital, Indio, Calif. (where he was instrumental in the renaming from Indio Hospital), 1982-1990, and a Staff Surgeon at the following hospitals: North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, N.Y.; Nassau Hospital, Mineola, N.Y.; Desert Hospital, Palm Springs, Calif.; and Eisenhower Medical Center. He was Full Professor Surgery and Professor of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Surgeon in Chief (Cardiac Unit), New York Medical College, Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital, 1965-1970, Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery, Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, New York Medical College, Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital, 1961-1965, Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at New York State College of Medicine, Downstate Division, 1948-1949, and Assistant Instructor in Surgery at Yale University College of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., 1948-1949. Dr. Bakst was one of the pioneers in open heart surgery in the 1960's and '70's, and traveled to Chile in 1962 with a team of doctors and nurses to perform the first open heart surgeries in that country and to train the local surgeons. He was also a pioneer in pediatric open heart surgery and he invented a finger scalpel to facilitate open heart surgery on infants. He invented and developed a line of magnet therapy products, including a patented back belt, which he marketed and sold through his Dr. Bakst Magnetics company. He was also the author of "the Cave Man Syndrome, The Evolution of Man's Nutritional Needs", 2010, and an extensive list of many other medical publications. Alvin Bakst is survived by his devoted wife of fifty-eight years, Ellen Bakst; and his loving children, Sheryl and Stuart Meddin, Peter and Anna Bakst, Kenneth and Suzanne Bakst, Trish Bakst, and Evan and Dina Bakst. "Papa" Bakst was loved, adored and treasured by his twelve grandchildren, Shea Meddin, Marisa Meddin, Andrew Bakst, Daniel Bakst, Jonathan Bakst, William Bakst, Alexandra Bakst, Ellis Kolber, Hillary Kolber, Emily Bakst, Arielle Bakst and Talia Bakst. He was a man of great strength and character who was loved and greatly admired by all who knew him, and he was a philanthropic man who supported many charities. Alvin Bakst was a brilliant man with an extensive medical knowledge which led all who knew him to seek out his sage medical advice and wisdom, which he was always happy and willing to provide, whenever the need arose. There was a funeral to celebrate the life of Alvin Aaron Bakst on January 2, 2012 at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City, Calif. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you please send donations to the Eisenhower Medical Center Foundation, 39000 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage, CA, 92270.