Medicine: Another Laurel

The man chosen by the American Medical Association (see above) to receive its Distinguished Service Award for 1950 was dignified, white-haired Dr. Evarts Ambrose Graham, often called the dean of U.S. surgery. The award was just one more laurel in his laurel-heavy career.

At 67, St. Louis’ Dr. Graham is still active as surgeon in chief at Barnes Hospital and the St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and professor of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine. He is probably best known for the first successful removal of an entire lung, in 1933. The patient, a fellow doctor, is still active. Other notable Graham feats:

¶ He developed the first method of making the gall bladder visible to the X-ray machine. Thus, gall bladder diseases can generally be detected and diagnosed.

¶ He was one of the first surgeons to attempt operations on heart valves.

¶He was the first surgeon to successfully remove almost all of a human pancreas.

Though responsible for some major developments in the technique of modern surgery, Dr. Graham ironically believes that his science has passed its peak and is now on the downgrade. His reasoning: such drugs as penicillin and ACTH will some day make most operations unnecessary. Eventually, says Dr. Graham, a surgeon’s work will be limited to corrections of 1) malformations at birth and 2) injuries from accidents.