Dodrill was born in
Webster Springs, West Virginia and attended
West Virginia University, where he earned his
bachelor's degree in 1925, he attended
Harvard Medical School, graduating in 1930. Dodrill was an
intern and
resident at
Harper Hospital in Detroit where he became a staff surgeon. He undertook a thoracic surgical residency at the
University of Michigan in the early 1940s, receiving a
M.Ch. degree from in 1942. On July 3, 1952, Dodrill completed the first successful
open heart surgery on the left ventricle of
Henry Opitek. He used a machine developed by himself and researchers at
General Motors, the
Dodrill-GMR, considered to be the first operational
mechanical heart used while performing open heart surgery.{{cite journal |last=Stephenson |first=Larry W |author2=Arbulu Agustin |author3=Bassett Joseph S |author4=Silbergleit Allen |author5=Hughes Calvin H |year=2002 |title=The Michigan Heart: the world's first successful open heart operation? Part I |journal=
Journal of Cardiac Surgery |volume=17 ==References==