Person of the Week: Dr. Craig Smith

Sept. 10, 2004 -- Dr. Craig Smith — one of the nation's leading heart surgeons — and his wife, Trish, were headed to their vacation home in New York's Adirondack Mountains to celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary when Smith got a very unexpected call.

"My wife answered the phone and spoke to my secretary, and it was obvious within 20 seconds or so that there was something big going on," Smith said.

Trish suggested they find the nearest exit and head back to the city. Unbeknownst to them at the time, former President Bill Clinton needed heart surgery right away, and Smith was being asked to perform it.

"My reaction was, well, that'll be interesting," Smith said.

"Interesting" may be an understatement. When he arrived at New York City's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where the surgery was to take place, a mob of reporters from around the world was camped outside.

Smith, 55, performs about 350 heart operations a year, but operating on a president is not just another day's work.

"I was certainly aware that whatever decision I made would be potentially second guessed for a hundred years by people in this business, and I'm sure that was weighing in my mind," he said.

Quadruple heart bypass may be commonplace to Smith, but the whole world was watching Clinton's operation intently.

"The magnitude of the reaction was a little overwhelming," said Smith.

Smith said the former president, as a patient, was an "easygoing, congenial person who makes everybody feel comfortable."

As for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea: "I've handled lots more difficult families. I can assure you, they've really been very pleasant to work with," he said.

Before President Ronald Reagan underwent surgery in 1981 after a failed assassination attempt, he said to his doctors, "I hope you're all Republicans."

Smith didn't consider his political affiliation to be a stumbling block in treating Clinton.

"I am not particularly political frankly," he said, "but I don't see it as very relevant, and I'm sure he wouldn't either."