Follow-Up Study of the Use of Refrigerated Homogenous Bone Transplants in Orthopaedic Operations

Philip Duncan Wilson was born in Columbus, Ohio. His father was a family physician who held the Chair of Obstetrics in the Sterling Medical School [1]. The young Philip graduated from Harvard College in 1909 and then served as President of his graduating class at Harvard Medical School. He spent two years as a surgical intern at MGH, after which he returned to Columbus to practice. During WWI he was invited back to Boston to join the Harvard Unit under Harvey Cushing, and served with that unit when it was housed in the Lycée Pasteur. (The members of that unit included Marius Smith-Petersen, who also spent many years at the Massachusetts General Hospital and also became AAOS President.) He rejoined MGH on the staff in 1919. In 1925 he published an influential monograph with W.A. Cochrane (formerly of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary), entitled, “Fractures and Dislocations” [5]. Toward the end of his years in Boston he helped found the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. In 1934 he was appointed as Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled in New York City. Dr. Wilson was active in many organizations, and reorganized and renamed the hospital he served (Hospital for Special Surgery), oversaw the building of a new hospital at its current site on the Cornell University medical campus, and raised money for a large research building. His zest inspired generations, and he was known for his gracious hospitality. Dr. Wilson was one of three of the first fifteen Presidents (the others being Drs. John C. Wilson, Sr. and Melvin Henderson) whose son (Dr. Philip D. Wilson, Jr.) succeeded him as a President of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Dr. Wilson had a long interest in bone grafting and wrote numerous research papers, a few of which are referenced here [2–4]. In the article reprinted in this issue [3], he described the rapid increase in use of a bone bank he developed at the Hospital for Special Surgery in 1946: 19 operations using grafts in 1946, 48 in 1947, 106 in 1948, 134 in 1949, and 259 in 1950. He describes his animal experiments with autogenous grafts in which grafts rapidly incorporated. He further describes biopsies of previously implanted autogenous and homogenous bone transplants in patients undergoing serial fusions for scoliosis. The pathologist (Dr. Milton Helpern) commented they found “...no evidence that the cells in the bone transplants survived...” Autogenous grafts, his evidence suggested, incorporated more rapidly that homogenous grafts, but “...in the end the results are the same.” His followup studies suggested successful incorporation of graft in 210 of 248 cases.

Samuel Robinson, pioneer thoracic surgeon (1875-1947)

Sam Robinson was born in Augusta, ME, in 1875. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, and of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), he worked in the laboratory of Walter Cannon. While a junior at MGH he spent four months abroad with Ferdinand Sauerbruch. He returned to Boston and remained there until 1912, performing his first successful lobectomy for bronchiectasis in 1909. He made important contributions to the management of pneumothorax during operation, notably Sam Robinson's box. In 1912 he moved to Clifton Springs, NY. From 1915 to 1917 he was the first Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the Mayo Clinic. Illness, probably bronchiectasis, led him to abandon academic thoracic surgery in 1918 and retire to Santa Barbara, CA, where he practiced general surgery until 1947. He was President of the Association for Thoracic Surgery in 1922. In addition to the use of positive pressure and early resections, his contributions include artificial pneumothorax for tuberculosis and management of acute and chronic empyema. His colorful writings provide a vivid picture of the early days of our specialty.     

Local Chemotherapy with Primary Closure of Septic Wounds by Means of Drainage and Irrigation Cannulae

Marius Nygaard Smith-Petersen was born in Grimstad, Norway, of a prominent merchant marine family in 1886 [2]. He came to the States with his mother in 1903 and, initially unable to speak English, completed high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1906. He then attended the University of Chicago (1906–07) and graduated from the University of Wisconsin (1910) and the Harvard Medical School (1914) [4]. He completed his surgical internship under Harvey Cushing at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, then his postgraduate orthopaedic training under Dr. Elliott Gray Brackett, at the Massachusetts General Hospital and became his assistant in practice 1917. In 1922 Dr. Smith-Petersen entered private practice in Boston, working at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He continued working there with a heavy clinic and operating schedule until shortly before his death from a brief illness in 1953 at the age of 67. Dr. Smith-Petersen traveled widely, was active in many national and international societies, and received many international awards and honorary memberships. As with other Presidents during the war years, he faced challenges organizing the annual meeting for 1944, although the number of members and guests attending had increased (to 1,018) compared to 1943 [3]. During his tenure the first volume of the Instructional Course Lectures was published. He had an extraordinary capacity for work and ability to focus [2], reflected in his creativity scholarly productivity.     

Malignant hyperthermia in the early days of pediatric anesthesia: an interview with anesthesiology pioneer,Dr. John F. Ryan

Dr. John F. Ryan (1935 ‐ ), Associate Professor of Anaesthesia at the Harvard Medical School, influenced the careers of hundreds of residents and fellows‐in‐training while instilling in them his core values of resilience, hard work, and integrity. His authoritative textbook, A Practice of Anesthesia for Infants and Children, remains as influential today as it did when first published decades ago. Although he had had many accomplishments, he identified his experiences caring for patients with malignant hyperthermia and characterizing the early discovery of this condition as his defining contribution to medicine. Based on a series of interviews with Dr. Ryan, this article reviews a remarkable career that coincides with the dawn of modern pediatric anesthetic practice.     

Sir George Ballingall (1786-1855): Regius Professor of Military Surgery in the University of Edinburgh

George Ballingall qualified with the Licentiate Diploma of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in December 1805 and joined the Army Medical Department in May of the following year, spending the majority of his army career in India. He also served in Java. Eventually, he was awarded his MD Edinburgh degree in 1819, and the FRCS Edinburgh and Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh during the following year. He was appointed to the Regius Chair of Military Surgery in the University of Edinburgh in November 1822, succeeding John Thomson, its first holder, and he held this post until his death in December 1855. Ballingall was the first to describe 'Madura Foot', sometimes called 'Ballingall's disease.' In 1833, he published Outlines of Military Surgery, which ran to five editions. He was appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to the King (William IV) and Surgeon to the Queen. He also established a fine Museum Collection to complement his Lecture Course. Throughout his teaching career, he campaigned vigorously in support of military medical educational reform. One of his sons and several grandchildren also served in the medical service of the army or in that of the Honourable East India Company.     

Viktor von Hacker (1852–1933) – Erinnerung an Leben und Schaffen eines bedeutenden Billroth-Schülers

The year of 1999 marks the 75th anniversary of Viktor von Hacker's retirement as chairman of the Department of Surgery at Karl-Franzens University School of Medicine in Graz. He was a favored pupil of Theodor Billroth (1829-1894). When he took his professorship at Graz in 1903, the present hospital, then as now one of the largest in Europe, was still in planning, and he immediately involved himself in all the subsequent developmental stages. Now we are again living through a stage of major reconstruction and expansion within the context of the "LKH 2000" project which also encompasses the surgical department and wards, most of which have generally remained unchanged since Hacker's time. During his 21 years as chairman of the department, Hacker made major contributions in the fields of gastro-intestinal surgery, esophageal surgery and especially esophagoscopy, as well as plastic surgery. Towards the end of his career, 70 years ago, Viktor von Hacker was named an honorary member of the German Society of Surgery. For these reasons, the man and his work should be recalled.     

Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award Lecture 2010: deconstructing leptin: from signals to circuits

Martin G. Myers Jr., MD, PhD, received the American Diabetes Association's prestigious 2010 Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award at the Association's 70th Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida, on 28 June 2010. The Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award recognizes outstanding scientific achievement in the field of diabetes, taking into consideration independence of thought and originality. Currently the Marilyn H. Vincent Professor of Diabetes Research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Associate Professor in internal medicine and in molecular and integrative physiology at the University of Michigan Medical School, Dr. Myers began his impressive track record in diabetes research as a graduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Morris White at the Joslin Diabetes Center/Harvard Medical School. There, Dr. Myers deciphered many of the insulin signaling pathways engaged by insulin receptor substrate proteins. Following his graduation from the Harvard MD-PhD Program in 1997, Dr. Myers was promoted to instructor in medicine at the Joslin Diabetes Center/Harvard Medical School. He began his independent work by building a molecular framework for understanding the mechanisms of leptin signaling, including how individual phosphorylation sites on the leptin receptor recruit distinct signaling molecules. He was promoted to assistant professor at Harvard in 1999. In 2004, Dr. Myers moved to the University of Michigan, where he built upon the molecular framework of leptin signaling to probe the regulation of metabolism by individual leptin signals. Dr. Myers' laboratory revealed the specificity of leptin signals in metabolic control, including the role for leptin-STAT3 signaling in the regulation of energy balance and glucose homeostasis. His group also defined roles for leptin receptor feedback inhibition and hypothalamic mTor signaling in metabolism. Dr. Myers' laboratory has recently developed novel molecular approaches to elucidate the leptin-regulated brain circuits that contribute to metabolic control, enabling the discovery of novel brain systems and their functions. In 1998, Dr. Myers received the American Diabetes Association's Career Development Award for his scientific abilities. Dr. Myers' current support includes the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases MERIT Award.     

Alfred Blalock. Surgeon, educator, and pioneer in shock and cardiac research.

Alfred Blalock (1899-1964) was a pioneer American surgeon who made significant advances in the knowledge and treatment of hemorrhagic and traumatic shock as well as in the palliative treatment of congenital heart disease, particularly tetralogy of Fallot. This historical note reviews highlights in the life and accomplishments of Alfred Blalock, noted academic surgeon and researcher. Blalock originated from Culloden, Georgia and attended Georgia Military College, the University of Georgia, and Johns Hopkins Medical School. He finished his surgical training at Vanderbilt University where he remained ultimately as professor of surgery until 1941 when he became the Chairman and Professor of Surgery at Johns Hopkins Medical School. His research in shock saved many soldiers' lives in World War II. In 1944 he performed the first subclavian-pulmonary artery shunt for tetralogy of Fallot with the support of the superb pediatric cardiologist Helen Taussig and the great technical help of Viven Thomas. Hundreds of operations followed. He educated and trained an incredible cadre of cardiovascular surgeons. He passed away in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 15, 1964.     

John Jones, M.D.: Pioneer, Patriot, and Founder of American Surgery

John Jones was a pioneer of American Surgery. Born in Long Island, New York in 1729, he received his medical degree in France from the University of Rheims. He returned to the colonies and helped to establish the medical school that would later become Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons where he was appointed the first Professor of Surgery in the New World. He used his position to assert that surgeons trained in America should be familiar with all facets of medicine and not be mere technicians. Before the outbreak of the American Revolution, he wrote a surgical field manual, which was the first medical text published in America. A believer in the principles of the American Revolution, he would go on to count Benjamin Franklin and George Washington as his patients. Despite achieving many firsts in American medicine, his influence on surgical training is his most enduring legacy.     

Harvey Cushing: "From tallow dip to television".

Harvey Cushing was not only a leading founder of neurosurgery, but his work in general surgery provoked research which advanced medical knowledge, and he made substantial contributions to medical education and general literature. He discovered (with L.E. Livinggood) that the stomach and small intestine could be rendered sterile by fasting before operations; he successfully sutured the cervical thoracic duct without subsequent leakage; he suggested, after attempted repair of chronic valvular lesions in the dog, the possibility of surgery on cardiac valves in man; he demonstrated the relation of intracranial pressure to blood pressure; he devised one of the first charts for recording pulse and respiration and introduced routine blood pressure determinations during operation; and he stimulated continuing research by internists and endocrinologists through his work on the pituitary body and its disorders-work which was crowned by his discovery of pituitary basophilism. His unique course in operative surgery for medical students at the Johns Hopkins was adopted by other medical schools and he advanced other provocative theories concerning the organization and content of the medical curriculum. He provided elective clinics at Harvard Medical School for students and established postgraduate fellowships at the Hopkins, Harvard, and Yale schools of medicine. Cushing brought distinction upon himself and the medical profession through his books and essays of high literary quality and originality, most notably his biography of Sir William Osler, which was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1926.     

The photographic collection of Charles John Bond (1856-1939

During the history of the Leicester Royal Infirmary from its foundation in 1771, Charles John Bond (1856-1939) emerges as one of the most distinguished members of the medical staff. He was born at Bittesby House in Leicestershire and brought up on his father's farm, where his early interest in natural history was fostered, and was further developed when he want to Repton school, nearby. His medical career began in February 1875, when he was apprenticed to Dr C M Sidley, a general practitioner of Welford Road, Leicester. For a short time he was an "outdoor" pupil at Leicester Infirmary before proceeding to University College London in the following October. He gained gold medals in physiology and anatomy and silver medals in surgery, midwifery, and medical jurisprudence, qualified in 1879 and was appointed house surgeon to Bedford General Infirmary. He returned to London in 1882 to study for the FRCS and shared rooms in Charlotte Street with his lifelong friend Victor Horsley, who in that year was appointed Assistant Professor of Pathology at University College Hospital. In the same year Charles Bond returned to Leicester and became house surgeon to Sir Charles Marriott. He did much to extend the use of Lister's recently introduced antiseptic methods. In the short period of four years he was appointed full surgeon at the Infirmary, and in 1893, because of his distingugished career and wide interests, he was offered the opportunity of joining the staff of University College Hospital. However, he preferred to stay in Leicester in spite of the limited opportunities for scientific investigation and research. In 1890 he married Edith, daughter of George Simpson, a justice of the peace in Derbyshire, and in 1910 they moved to a large Victorian house, Fernshaw, in Springfield Road on the then outskirts of Leicester, where various animals and birds could be kept for use in his experimental work. In this year he took the unusual step of giving up his large private practice to devote more time to study and to his research interests. three years later, at the age of 57, he retired from the staff of the Infirmary, and the governing body made him an honorary consultant surgeon and also elected him a vice president, the only doctor to be so honoured. Thus he retained a close association with his hospital until his death in 1939.     

Wilfred Trotter: surgeon, philosopher.

There is no significant biography that records the accomplishments of Sir Wilfred Trotter, who was a general surgeon in its pure sense at a time when surgical specialization was in its infancy. Trotter was born in the 1870s in England. Despite being bedridden during his childhood with a musculoskeletal condition he was able to study medicine at London University, and eventually became Professor and Chair of Surgery at the University College Hospital, a position he held until his death in November 1939. He made many contributions to surgical care, particularly in the field of oncology. He attended to many famous people, including King George V and Sigmund Freud and was greatly honoured in his own milieu. He was named honorary surgeon and Sargent Surgeon to the king. In addition, he was a thoughtful individual who addressed problems in human behaviour, contradicting the stereotype of the contemporary surgeon.     

Alfred Blalock. Surgeon,Educator, and Pioneer in Shock and Cardiac Research

Alfred Blalock (1899–1964) was a pioneer American surgeon who made significant advances in the knowledge and treatment of hemorrhagic and traumatic shock as well as in the palliative treatment of congenital heart disease, particularly tetralogy of Fallot. This historical note reviews highlights in the life and accomplishments of Alfred Blalock, noted academic surgeon and researcher.

Blalock originated from Culloden, Georgia and attended Georgia Military College, the University of Georgia, and Johns Hopkins Medical School. He finished his surgical training at Vanderbilt University where he remained ultimately as professor of surgery until 1941 when he became the Chairman and Professor of Surgery at Johns Hopkins Medical School. His research in shock saved many soldiers' lives in World War II. In 1944 he performed the first subclavian-pulmonary artery shunt for tetralogy of Fallot with the support of the superb pediatric cardiologist Helen Taussig and the great technical help of Viven Thomas. Hundreds of operations followed. He educated and trained an incredible cadre of cardiovascular surgeons. He passed away in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 15, 1964.     

What's in a name: the Loyal Davis lecture

The professional career of Loyal Davis, M.D., M.S., Ph.D., Professor of Surgery at Northwestern University Medical School from 1932 to 1963, Editor of Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics from 1938 to 1982, and President of the American College of Surgeons in 1962-1963, spanned 64 years. It was characterized by his fidelity to his mentors, his ideals, his institution, his organization, and his journal. The unusual name, Loyal, was well chosen by his parents; it was predictive of his behavior throughout a long and productive life.     

Frederic John Mouat (1816-97), MD FRCS LLD of the Indian Medical Service

Frederic John Mouat trained at University College London, qualifying Member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1838. He was a distinguished surgeon in the Indian Civil Medical Service who became Professor of Medicine in the Bengal Medical College. After 30 years in India, where he was a leading figure in the field of education and prison reform, he retired to the UK in 1870. Then he started a new career as an Inspector for the Local Government Board. He was also an active member of the Royal Statistical Society, becoming its President in 1890. He died in 1897 leaving a widow and four stepchildren.     

An Update on Salivary Gland Pathology

Andrew G. Huvos was born in communist Budapest, Hungary, in March of 1934. At twenty-four he immigrated to New York City, working as a cytotechnologist at Delafield Hospital. Dr. Huvos attended the University of Gottingen Medical School in Germany, where he was awarded his MD degree. He completed a 1-year internship at New York Hospital, going on to Residency at Delafield Hospital and Fellowship at Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Huvos ascended through the ranks to Attending Pathologist and Member at Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied diseases, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City. Concurrently, he was appointed to Weill Medical College of Cornell University, where he was Professor of Pathology for over two decades. Dr. Huvos was an editorial referee for over half a dozen highly esteemed publications, including the New England Journal of Medicine and Cancer. He trained over a thousand oncological surgical pathology fellows, head and neck fellows, and surgeons. Dr. Huvos spent nearly 40 years at MSKCC and his career was accompanied by his authorship of 388 peer-reviewed publications and eighteen book chapters. His legacy leaves behind a generation of pathologists who have greatly benefited from his tutelage.     

Edward Loughborough Keyes: an early twentieth century leader in urology

PURPOSE: Edward Loughborough Keyes was a renowned urologist, decorated war hero, prolific writer and beloved professor. Having served as president of the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, the American Urological Association, the International Urological Society and the Clinical Urological Association, Keyes in large part steered the course of urology during the early twentieth century. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed letters, original publications and historical records pertaining to Doctor Keyes found in the New York Hospital archives, the American Urological Association historical record, the medical literature and the popular press. RESULTS: Edward Loughborough Keyes, Jr. received his M.D. from Columbia in 1895, and went on to hold academic positions in urology at Georgetown, the New York Polyclinic Medical School, St. Vincent's Hospital, Memorial Hospital, New York University and at the Cornell University Medical College, where he spent most of his career. He authored the premier urology textbook of his day, Urology, and published prolifically on a myriad of urological conditions. Doctor Keyes served in World War I as consultant in urology to General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force. During the war he and Hugh Hampton Young led modern history's first public campaign against sexually transmitted disease, and in America he was one of the leaders of the American social hygiene movement from which contemporary sexual education evolved. He spoke Spanish and French fluently, wrote poetry and prose prolifically, and was beloved for his good humor. He died at the age of 75 in New York. CONCLUSIONS: Edward Loughborough Keyes is remembered as one of the great urologists of the early twentieth century.     

Arthrodesing Operations on the Feet

Dr. Edwin Warner Ryerson was born in New York City, graduated from Harvard, then trained at Boston Children’s Hospital [1]. After visiting centers in Berlin and Vienna he moved to Chicago in 1899, where he accepted a post at Rush Medical College. In 1916 he was named professor and head of orthopaedics at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Owing to WWI he entered military service in 1918–1919. Afterward he became head of orthopaedics at Northwestern University until his retirement from the university in 1935. He continued in private practice until 1947, when he retired to Florida. Dr. Ryerson maintained a lifelong interest in teaching and service to the orthopaedic community. He became a member of the American Orthopaedic Association in 1905 and was President in 1925. Dr. Ryerson was active in the Clinical Orthopaedic Society, which also had a role in forming American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons [4]. In the archives of the AAOS, he was described as “a forensic and parliamentary expert” [6]. He was a founding member of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery in 1934, became its vice President in 1935, and served on the Board until 1940 [11].     

George Guthrie (1785-1856): surgeon to the Duke of Wellington, and a pioneer thoracic surgeon

George Guthrie had a distinguished career as a soldier, surgeon and medical reformer. He revolutionized military surgery following his active service during the Peninsular War in Spain and Portugal. His book Commentaries on the Surgery of War was based on this experience and was updated continuously; it remained the standard military text for half a century. During this campaign, he also struggled to improve the poor administration of the Army Medical Service. He had little respect for established dogma and was a man of great humanity and integrity who based his opinion on personal statistical observation together with his own anatomical and postmortem studies. His influence on surgical thinking was enormous and he was three times the President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.     

Josephus Andreas Jacobus Plenck - a forerunner of modern diuretic therapy

Joseph Andreas Jacobus Plenck was born in 1735 in Vienna where he studied surgery with Johan Christian Retter. At age 35 he was appointed Professor of Surgery and Obstetrics by Maria Theresia. Subsequently he became professor and life long secretary of the Medical Military Academy know as the Josephinum where he worked up to 1807. He was one of the most brilliant scientific writers of his time. Here we analyze his medical treatise, Icones Plantarum Medicinalium secundum systema Lynnaei cum enumeratione virium et usus medici, chirurgici et diaetetici, published in folio in Latin and German. This is a therapy based on plants in which the author discusses the medical use of 758 plants. This article is centered on 111 plants with diuretic properties which still appear in many pharmacopoeias.