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The Black Surgeon in the Twentieth Century A Tribute to Samuel L. Kountz, MD Claude H. Organ, Jr., MD Omaha, Nebraska
The opportunity to speak at the 1978 banquet of Alpha Omega Alpha at Howard University allows me to share your pride in being elected to membership. It also provides me with an appropriate forum to discuss the black surgeon in the twentieth century. The impetus for this topic arose from my deep respect and concem for Dr. Samuel L. Kountz, currently making a courageous recovery from an illness which came close to destroying him in 1977. All of the noble characteristics for which Alpha Omega Alpha stands are embodied in the life and efforts of this native Arkansan. Following the com-
Presented at the Inductees Banquet of Howard University College of Medicine's Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, Washington, DC, May 5, 1978. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr. Claude H. Organ, Jr., Department of Surgery, Creighton, University, 601 N. 30th Street, Omaha, NB 68131.
pletion of his undergraduate and medical school training at the University of Arkansas, he journeyed to Stanford to continue his postgraudate training in surgery. Dr. Kountz later joined the faculty there before transferring to the University of California at San Francisco. It was at these institutions that he became deeply immersed in the early development of renal transplantation. As a result of these and other accomplishments, he was selected as chairman of the Department of Surgery at the Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. It can be said, with every degree of certainty, that his scholarly activities and research have identified him as one of the world leaders in renal transplantation. It is to this courageous man, his devoted wife, Grace, and their children, who are inheriting a rich tradition, that I dedicate these remarks. The earliest contribution in the modern history of the black surgeon dates back to the latter part of the nineteenth century. Daniel Hale Williams at the Provident Hospital in Chicago, in 1893, at the age of 37, successfully sutured lacerations of the
JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, VOL. 70, NO. 9, 1978
pericardium and myocardium. Dr. Williams did not have the benefit of either diagnostic x-ray or a controlled airway when he undertook these repairs. He was not comforted by a
Samue L K
.un .
Samuel L. Kountz, MD 683
statement previously made by Theodore Biliroth, the noted European surgeon, who said, "Any surgeon who would attempt to suture a wound of the heart is not worthy of the serious consideration of his colleagues." Dr. Williams was a charter member of the American College of Surgeons, one of the founders and the first VicePresident of the National Medical Association. He -founded Provident Hospital (Chicago) and was appointed by President Cleveland to be head of Freedmen's Hospital. One of the able assistants of Daniel Hale Williams was Ulysses Grant Dailey. Dr. Dailey graudated from the Northwestern University School of Medicine in 1906 and distinguished himself by setting up numerous postgraduate clinics in the South for black physicians. In his opinion, his crowning achievement was the training of young surgeons. Starting out as an instructor in experimental surgery at the Chicago Medical College, he later received an honorary degree of Doctor of Science in 1955 from his alma mater, Northwestern University, upon the occasion of his retirement. In 1932 he became head of the Residency Training Program at Provident Hospital in
Chicago. Another contemporary of the same era, also active in Chicago, was Roscoe Giles. Dr. Giles distinguished himself by becoming the first black Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and was admitted to Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons in 1945. Louis T. Wright graduated cum laude from the Harvard Medical School in 1915 and was identified for three decades with Harlem Hospital. Dr. Wright was rejected for training at the Boston City, Peter Bent Brigham, and Massachusetts General Hospitals, but later went to Freedmen's Hospital in Washington, DC for his surgical education. He was the director of the Department of Surgery at Harlem Hospital from 1919-1939 and from 1942-1952. Frederick Douglass Stubbs died at the untimely age of 41. Dr. Stubbs, in 1927, graduated from Dartmouth College, magna cum laude, and was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa. He later received the MD degree, cum laude, from the Harvard Medical School in 1931. Dr. Stubbs was the first black to become a member of the Harvard Chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha and subsequently adopted the 684
city of Philadelphia as his home where he became the chief of surgery at Mercy and Douglas Hospitals. Frederick Stubbs was the first black to be formally trained in thoracic surgery at the Sea View Hospital in New York City from 1937-1939. The life of Charles Richard Drew came to an end at the age of 46, as a result of an automobile accident April 1, 1950. A 1933 graduate of the McGill University School of Medicine, he became chairman of the Department of Surgery at Howard University in 1941. As Daniel Hale Williams had been a beacon at the turn of the century, it was Charles Drew who fashioned an academic surgical career that was to be an outstanding example to young black surgeons. His monumental work in establishing blood banks is a memorable part of history. Numerous public schools, scholarships, and lectures have been named after him, including the Drew Fundamental Surgical Forum of the National Medical Association. Unique in this list of individuals who have contributed to American surgery must rank the name of Vivien Thomas of Baltimore. Vivien Thomas taught surgical technique to some of the nation's most distinguished surgeons, though he had no medical degree himself. For 30 years he was the supervisor of the Johns Hopkins Surgical Research Laboratory. He left Tennessee State with the full intent of pursuing a medical career at the time of the stock market crash, which destroyed his financial assets and caused his dream to be deferred. He journeyed to Johns Hopkins University and during his tenure there with Dr. Alfred Blalock, he, among other things, developed an apparatus that produced the shock syndrome in dogs as well as a respirator for experimental surgery. He was an integral part of the operating room team that performed the first blue baby operation, and, in the words of a noted Johns Hopkins surgeon, "It was extremely difficult to tell if Dr. Blalock had the original idea for a particular technique or if it was Vivien Thomas, because they worked so smoothly together, we really didn't know." Two institutions have been particularly outstanding in the training and development of black surgeons in the United States, Meharry Medical College and the Howard University School of Medicine. The first full-time chairman of the Department of Surgery at
Meharry Medical College was John Hale, a gentleman and scholar who occupied this position from 1938-1944. He was followed by Dr. Matthew Walker from 1944-1973. The late Dr. Walker deserves special recognition for keeping the hopes alive of many young surgeons during his chairmanship and made numerous opportunities available, not only at his own institution, but by virtue of his influence in other prestige programs as well. Walker was followed in 1973 by Dr. Louis J. Bernard, his former student and resident, who is currently chairman. The Howard University College of Medicine has been equally outstanding in its contribution to the development of the black surgeon. Austin Curtis was the first black to serve as chairman during the years 1928-1936. It was symbolic, indeed historic, that the next black chairman at Howard University was Charles Drew who served from 1941-1950. After his death, Dr. Drew was succeeded by Dr. James R. Laurey from 1950-1955, and then by Dr. Clarence S. Greene, the first black to be certified by the American Board of Neurosurgery, who served from 19551957. Dr. Greene was succeeded by Dr. Burke Syphax who remained chairman until 1970. After a successful recruitment and development program, he was followed in 1970 by his student and resident, Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, who is currently chairman. The aspirations of many were nurtured and kept alive by Daniel Hale Williams, Matthew Walker, Charles Drew, and others. These men, though not part of the formal system, possessed a high degree of personal motivation and intelligence. They spent their time and financial resources journeying to clinics throughout the world to improve their body of surgical knowledge. The future of American surgery continues to be bright and we are all privileged to live in this, the greatest era in the history of the surgical sciences. Scientific and surgical frontiers not yet developed await the efforts of dynamic, competent, and highly motivated minds to explore. Historians may speculate as to what contributions many of these men might have made had they been part of the formal system and allowed to develop their talents to the maximum. Yet, these men did make this impact and have become a part of the history of American surgery.
JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, VOL. 70, NO. 9, 1978
The Black Surgeon in the Twentieth Century A Tribute to Samuel L. Kountz, MD Claude H. Organ, Jr., MD Omaha, Nebraska
The opportunity to speak at the 1978 banquet of Alpha Omega Alpha at Howard University allows me to share your pride in being elected to membership. It also provides me with an appropriate forum to discuss the black surgeon in the twentieth century. The impetus for this topic arose from my deep respect and concem for Dr. Samuel L. Kountz, currently making a courageous recovery from an illness which came close to destroying him in 1977. All of the noble characteristics for which Alpha Omega Alpha stands are embodied in the life and efforts of this native Arkansan. Following the com-
Presented at the Inductees Banquet of Howard University College of Medicine's Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, Washington, DC, May 5, 1978. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr. Claude H. Organ, Jr., Department of Surgery, Creighton, University, 601 N. 30th Street, Omaha, NB 68131.
pletion of his undergraduate and medical school training at the University of Arkansas, he journeyed to Stanford to continue his postgraudate training in surgery. Dr. Kountz later joined the faculty there before transferring to the University of California at San Francisco. It was at these institutions that he became deeply immersed in the early development of renal transplantation. As a result of these and other accomplishments, he was selected as chairman of the Department of Surgery at the Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. It can be said, with every degree of certainty, that his scholarly activities and research have identified him as one of the world leaders in renal transplantation. It is to this courageous man, his devoted wife, Grace, and their children, who are inheriting a rich tradition, that I dedicate these remarks. The earliest contribution in the modern history of the black surgeon dates back to the latter part of the nineteenth century. Daniel Hale Williams at the Provident Hospital in Chicago, in 1893, at the age of 37, successfully sutured lacerations of the
JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, VOL. 70, NO. 9, 1978
pericardium and myocardium. Dr. Williams did not have the benefit of either diagnostic x-ray or a controlled airway when he undertook these repairs. He was not comforted by a
Samue L K
.un .
Samuel L. Kountz, MD 683
statement previously made by Theodore Biliroth, the noted European surgeon, who said, "Any surgeon who would attempt to suture a wound of the heart is not worthy of the serious consideration of his colleagues." Dr. Williams was a charter member of the American College of Surgeons, one of the founders and the first VicePresident of the National Medical Association. He -founded Provident Hospital (Chicago) and was appointed by President Cleveland to be head of Freedmen's Hospital. One of the able assistants of Daniel Hale Williams was Ulysses Grant Dailey. Dr. Dailey graudated from the Northwestern University School of Medicine in 1906 and distinguished himself by setting up numerous postgraduate clinics in the South for black physicians. In his opinion, his crowning achievement was the training of young surgeons. Starting out as an instructor in experimental surgery at the Chicago Medical College, he later received an honorary degree of Doctor of Science in 1955 from his alma mater, Northwestern University, upon the occasion of his retirement. In 1932 he became head of the Residency Training Program at Provident Hospital in
Chicago. Another contemporary of the same era, also active in Chicago, was Roscoe Giles. Dr. Giles distinguished himself by becoming the first black Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and was admitted to Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons in 1945. Louis T. Wright graduated cum laude from the Harvard Medical School in 1915 and was identified for three decades with Harlem Hospital. Dr. Wright was rejected for training at the Boston City, Peter Bent Brigham, and Massachusetts General Hospitals, but later went to Freedmen's Hospital in Washington, DC for his surgical education. He was the director of the Department of Surgery at Harlem Hospital from 1919-1939 and from 1942-1952. Frederick Douglass Stubbs died at the untimely age of 41. Dr. Stubbs, in 1927, graduated from Dartmouth College, magna cum laude, and was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa. He later received the MD degree, cum laude, from the Harvard Medical School in 1931. Dr. Stubbs was the first black to become a member of the Harvard Chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha and subsequently adopted the 684
city of Philadelphia as his home where he became the chief of surgery at Mercy and Douglas Hospitals. Frederick Stubbs was the first black to be formally trained in thoracic surgery at the Sea View Hospital in New York City from 1937-1939. The life of Charles Richard Drew came to an end at the age of 46, as a result of an automobile accident April 1, 1950. A 1933 graduate of the McGill University School of Medicine, he became chairman of the Department of Surgery at Howard University in 1941. As Daniel Hale Williams had been a beacon at the turn of the century, it was Charles Drew who fashioned an academic surgical career that was to be an outstanding example to young black surgeons. His monumental work in establishing blood banks is a memorable part of history. Numerous public schools, scholarships, and lectures have been named after him, including the Drew Fundamental Surgical Forum of the National Medical Association. Unique in this list of individuals who have contributed to American surgery must rank the name of Vivien Thomas of Baltimore. Vivien Thomas taught surgical technique to some of the nation's most distinguished surgeons, though he had no medical degree himself. For 30 years he was the supervisor of the Johns Hopkins Surgical Research Laboratory. He left Tennessee State with the full intent of pursuing a medical career at the time of the stock market crash, which destroyed his financial assets and caused his dream to be deferred. He journeyed to Johns Hopkins University and during his tenure there with Dr. Alfred Blalock, he, among other things, developed an apparatus that produced the shock syndrome in dogs as well as a respirator for experimental surgery. He was an integral part of the operating room team that performed the first blue baby operation, and, in the words of a noted Johns Hopkins surgeon, "It was extremely difficult to tell if Dr. Blalock had the original idea for a particular technique or if it was Vivien Thomas, because they worked so smoothly together, we really didn't know." Two institutions have been particularly outstanding in the training and development of black surgeons in the United States, Meharry Medical College and the Howard University School of Medicine. The first full-time chairman of the Department of Surgery at
Meharry Medical College was John Hale, a gentleman and scholar who occupied this position from 1938-1944. He was followed by Dr. Matthew Walker from 1944-1973. The late Dr. Walker deserves special recognition for keeping the hopes alive of many young surgeons during his chairmanship and made numerous opportunities available, not only at his own institution, but by virtue of his influence in other prestige programs as well. Walker was followed in 1973 by Dr. Louis J. Bernard, his former student and resident, who is currently chairman. The Howard University College of Medicine has been equally outstanding in its contribution to the development of the black surgeon. Austin Curtis was the first black to serve as chairman during the years 1928-1936. It was symbolic, indeed historic, that the next black chairman at Howard University was Charles Drew who served from 1941-1950. After his death, Dr. Drew was succeeded by Dr. James R. Laurey from 1950-1955, and then by Dr. Clarence S. Greene, the first black to be certified by the American Board of Neurosurgery, who served from 19551957. Dr. Greene was succeeded by Dr. Burke Syphax who remained chairman until 1970. After a successful recruitment and development program, he was followed in 1970 by his student and resident, Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, who is currently chairman. The aspirations of many were nurtured and kept alive by Daniel Hale Williams, Matthew Walker, Charles Drew, and others. These men, though not part of the formal system, possessed a high degree of personal motivation and intelligence. They spent their time and financial resources journeying to clinics throughout the world to improve their body of surgical knowledge. The future of American surgery continues to be bright and we are all privileged to live in this, the greatest era in the history of the surgical sciences. Scientific and surgical frontiers not yet developed await the efforts of dynamic, competent, and highly motivated minds to explore. Historians may speculate as to what contributions many of these men might have made had they been part of the formal system and allowed to develop their talents to the maximum. Yet, these men did make this impact and have become a part of the history of American surgery.
JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, VOL. 70, NO. 9, 1978
