Thomas J. Fogarty, MD, American vascular surgeon and inventor, died on December 28, 2025 at the age of 91.[1][2][3] He invented the balloon catheter to remove blood clots, which revolutionized vascular surgery by replacing risky open operations with a small incision.[1][2][3] Before its invention, nearly 50% of patients died or lost a limb when removing clots with forceps after a large artery cut.[1][2] The balloon catheter has become the standard and is used in more than 300,000 procedures annually, saving the lives and limbs of approximately 20 million patients.[1] Fogarty further invented a stent-graft to support weakened vessels in abdominal aortic aneurysms instead of removing them.[1][2][3] He also co-invented the first Hancock tissue heart valve and Fogarty surgical clips.[2][3] He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering and considered a pioneer of minimally invasive surgery.[1][2]