Lionel M. Bargeron, Jr., M.D.

Dr. Bargeron   Photograph courtesy of UAB Archives

1923 - 2005

We honor Lionel M. (Mac) Bargeron, Jr., M.D., the founder of our Division.  The techniques he developed to image congenital heart disease with cineangiography are still current and used throughout the world.

Dr. Bargeron joined the UAB faculty in 1957 as an Assistant Professor, became the first Division Director of Pediatric Cardiology in 1966, and retired as Professor of Pediatrics and Division Director of Pediatric Cardiology in 1989.  During this period, Dr. Bargeron and Dr. John Kirklin built a internationally recognized pediatric cardiology program.  In 1990, he was recognized as Professor Emeritus and in 1991 he was selected by UAB faculty members as The Distinguished Faculty Lecturer, one of the most prestigious honors the UAB faculty can bestow upon a colleague.

Dr. Bargeron was one of the pioneers in the development of cineangiography for nonsurgical understanding of congenital heart disease.  He created one of the first biplane cineangiographic units in 1958 and over the years perfected the technique of angled cineangiography that is now standard practice in pediatric and adult congenital heart disease catheterization laboratories.

Besides cineangiography, Dr. Bargeron was quick to recognize the promise of new technologies for the diagnosis of congenital heart disease and was a very early adopter of echocardiography.  Dr. Bargeron’s primary research focus in latter years was the development of integrated, cost effective, diagnostic techniques in pediatric cardiology, resulting in a high-quality diagnostic unit with the unit costs at Children’s Hospital of Alabama and the UAB Department of Pediatrics considered some of the lowest in the country. 

In 1993, the Board of trustees of The University of Alabama named the Pediatric Cardiology Suite in his honor, and in 1996, established the Lionel M. Bargeron, Jr., M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cardiology with Edward V. Colvin, M.D., current Division Director of Pediatric Cardiology,as the first holder of the Chair.