He is the son of Dr Alton Ochsner, 27th president of the AATS, and is also a descendent of Dr Albert J. Ochsner, founder and first president of the American College of Surgeons. When he was 3 months old, Ochsner's family moved to New Orleans after his father was appointed chairman of surgery at Tulane. Ochsner described his father as a taskmaster and somewhat distant during his childhood years; however, they would ultimately grow very close personally and professionally. Both men would become renowned surgeons and educators, serve prominently at the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, and be considered heroes of southern medicine. Michael DeBakey figured into the Ochsner legacy in a most important way-Alton Ochsner served as an early mentor to DeBakey, who in turn served as an early mentor to John Ochsner. John Ochsner described early his memories of DeBakey, ''I knew him as Mike, because he was our babysitter . . . when I was a kid.'' 1 ''[I]n fact he spent his honeymoon at our house. Mother and dad went to Europe on a trip and Dr DeBakey was getting married . . . and dad . . . said why don't you all just stay at . . . our house, and ya'll can take care of the children, so they did. His wife, Dianna, stayed with us and I remember them babysitting at other times for us. He was a great babysitter, and of course at that time, he was Mike to me, you know. Not Dr DeBakey, but it was a different situation. He was very, very devoted to my father. He had four sons, and the middle name, each one had a middle name that was Ochsner . . . they were very, very close. My mother was very close with Dr DeBakey. She felt like he was a son.'' 2