The Mayo brothers and Harvey Cushing: a review of their 39-year friendship through their personal letters

2005 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 391-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron A. Cohen-Gadol ◽  
J. Michael Homan ◽  
Edward R. Laws ◽  
John L. D. Atkinson ◽  
Ross H. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Mayo Clinic ◽  
Professional Association ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Special Relationship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Harvey Cushing ◽  
Neurological Surgery ◽  
Fine Print

✓ Mayo Clinic founders, William J. Mayo and Charles H. Mayo, and Harvey W. Cushing were among the most significant pioneers of modern American surgery. A review of their personal correspondence reveals a special relationship among these three individuals, particularly between William Mayo and Cushing. Their interactions within the Society of Clinical Surgery initiated their close personal and professional association, which would endure for 39 years. William Mayo strongly supported Cushing's efforts to develop the specialty of neurological surgery, and Cushing sought Mayo's advice in making important career-related decisions. Their supportive friendship and professional alliance remains an example for future generations of neurological surgeons.

The crucial decade: modern neurosurgery's definitive development in Harvey Cushing's early research and practice, 1900 to 1910

1997 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 964-971 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel H. Greenblatt
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Success ◽  
Surgical Techniques ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
The United States ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Ability ◽  
Harvey Cushing ◽  
Neurological Surgery ◽  
Fine Print

✓ When Harvey Cushing announced his full-time commitment to neurological surgery in 1904, it was a discouraging and discouraged enterprise. Other surgeons' mortality rates for patients with brain tumors were 30 to 50%. By 1910 Cushing had operated on 180 tumors; he had a thriving practice, with a patient mortality rate of less than 13%. The three essential ingredients of his success were: 1) a new surgical conceptualization of intracranial pressure (ICP); 2) technical innovations for controlling ICP; and 3) establishment of a large referral base. In the years 1901 through 1905, the implications of his research on the “Cushing reflex” were quickly translated into surgical techniques for controlling ICP. In the period between 1906 and 1910, Cushing built up his referral practice by publishing widely, and especially by lecturing to medical audiences throughout the United States and Canada. His scientific work on ICP was essential to his clinical success, but without his professional and social ability to build a thriving practice, there would have been insufficient material for him to use to improve his approaches.

The Massachusetts General Hospital

1993 ◽  
Vol 79 (6) ◽  
pp. 948-958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred G. Barker
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
General Hospital ◽  
Massachusetts General Hospital ◽  
Early History ◽  
Brain Surgery ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Harvey Cushing ◽  
History Of ◽  
Neurological Surgery ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The early history of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is reviewed with emphasis on the development of neurological surgery. The hospital opened in 1823. Early trephinations were performed by Dr. John Collins Warren and others for treatment of trauma and epilepsy. In the 1880's, interest in brain surgery increased, and Dr. John Elliot performed several trephinations for brain tumors, three of which were witnessed by Dr. Harvey Cushing during his years at the MGH as medical student and intern. In 1911, all brain surgery was placed in the hands of Dr. S. J. Mixter. He later shared the assignment with his son, Dr. W. J. Mixter, who described herniation of the intervertebral disc with Dr. J. S. Barr and became the first Chief of the Neurosurgical Service at MGH in 1939.

Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland: a neurosurgical chronicle

1995 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 750-755
Author(s):  
Mary Louise Hlavin ◽  
Robert A. Ratcheson
Keyword(s):  
University Hospitals ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Harvey Cushing ◽  
School Of Medicine ◽  
Neurological Surgery ◽  
Fine Print ◽  
Western Reserve

✓ There is a strong tradition of neurosurgery in Cleveland. This article traces the origin of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland and examines the evolution of neurological surgery at these institutions. It looks at the strong Cushing influence on the process, by both Harvey Cushing and his family. The contributions of such luminaries as George Crile, Elliott Cutler, Claude Beck, and Frank Nulsen are described.

The AANS: The national and international organization for neurological surgery

1992 ◽  
Vol 77 (5) ◽  
pp. 663-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
James T. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
American Association ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Strong Argument ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Harvey Cushing ◽  
International Role ◽  
Neurological Surgery ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) validates the AANS as the national neurosurgical organization. He describes improved management of major committees of neurological surgery by the Joint Officers of the AANS and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. A strong argument and proclamation are presented to expand the international role of the former Harvey Cushing Society.

Harvey Cushing and Oskar Hirsch: early forefathers of modern transsphenoidal surgery

2005 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. 1096-1104 ◽  
Author(s):  
James K. LIU ◽  
Aaron A. Cohen-Gadol ◽  
Edward R. Laws ◽  
Chad D. Cole ◽  
Peter Kan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transsphenoidal Surgery ◽  
Sphenoid Sinus ◽  
Sella Turcica ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Harvey Cushing ◽  
Transnasal Surgery ◽  
Sublabial Approach ◽  
First Time ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The transnasal transsphenoidal approach is the preferred route for removal of most lesions of the sella turcica. The concept of transnasal surgery traversing the sphenoid sinus to reach the sella has existed for nearly a century. A comprehensive historical overview of the evolution of transsphenoidal surgery has been reported previously. In the present vignette, the authors focus on transsphenoidal surgery in the early 1900s, particularly on the methods advocated by Harvey Cushing and Oskar Hirsch, two prominent pituitary surgeons who pioneered the transsphenoidal technique. Cushing championed the sublabial approach, whereas Hirsch was the master of the endonasal route. Coincidentally, both surgeons independently performed the submucous septal resection for the first time on June 4, 1910. Although Cushing's and Hirsch's approaches were predicated on the work of their predecessors, their transsphenoidal procedures became the two most popular techniques and, for future generations of pituitary surgeons, laid the foundation for modern transsphenoidal surgery. In this comparative analysis, the authors compare the operative nuances of the approaches of Cushing and Hirsch and describe the contributions of these pioneers to modern transsphenoidal surgery.

Hans Sølling: Danish pioneer neurosurgeon

1994 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 487-492
Author(s):  
Ib Søgaard ◽  
Bengt Ljunggren
Keyword(s):  
Brain Tumors ◽  
Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Small Town ◽  
Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Harvey Cushing ◽  
Fine Print

✓ Hans Adolf Sølling (1879–1945), working completely on his own in the small town of Horsens, was Denmark's first neurosurgeon. Sølling was an admirable and talented man who performed major intracranial operations on more than 130 patients suffering from trigeminal neuralgia, as well as treating epilepsy, craniotrauma, brain tumors, glossopharyngeal neuralgia, and myelomeningoceles. Although not in the same league as Harvey Cushing (1869–1939), Vilhelm Magnus in Norway (1871–1929), and Herbert Olivecrona in Sweden (1891–1980), Sølling was a true Danish pioneer.

Traditions, Transition, and the Torch

1981 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert B. King
Keyword(s):  
American Association ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Governmental Support ◽  
Neurological Surgery ◽  
Fine Print ◽  
Formative Years

✓ The President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) emphasizes the need to participate actively in the burgeoning field of neuroscience, and the unique opportunity of neurological surgeons to apply the new knowledge to the treatment of their patients. Clinician-investigators need to be trained in their formative years in the methodology and techniques of modern neurobiology. Diminishing governmental support for training poses a grave threat to carrying on the tradition of research in neurological surgery. To meet a critical need, the formation of a Research Foundation is announced as a function of the AANS. As Science is expanded and applied, the Art of neurosurgery will continue to be refined, along with the high tradition of Ethics which has been handed down over the years as part of the heritage of neurological surgeons.

George W. Crile, Ohio's first neurosurgeon, and his relationship with Harvey Cushing

2005 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 378-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narendra Nathoo ◽  
Frederick K. Lautzenheiser ◽  
Gene H. Barnett
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
World War I ◽  
Radical Neck Dissection ◽  
Cleveland Clinic ◽  
Cleveland Clinic Foundation ◽  
Common Interest ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Harvey Cushing ◽  
Clinic Foundation ◽  
Fine Print

✓ Much has been written about Harvey Cushing, his contributions to neurosurgery, and his relationship with many of his contemporaries. Nevertheless, there is no independent report documenting his relationship with Ohio's first neurosurgeon, George W. Crile. Crile's role as a neurosurgeon is limited to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and he is best remembered for other accomplishments. Father of physiological surgery, pioneering surgeon, innovator, inventor, soldier, and the principal founder of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Crile lived during the golden era of surgery, when the discipline was evolving from a crude and chancy art to an applied science. Crile achieved distinction by performing and describing the first successful radical neck dissection for head and neck cancers and the first successful direct human-to-human blood transfusion. He helped introduce the measurement of blood pressure during surgery, first used cocaine for regional anesthesia in the US, proposed “anoci-anesthesia” to prevent shock during surgery, helped establish one of the first nurse anesthetist schools, and invented the Crile forceps and the pneumatic suit, which was the forerunner to the aviator's antigravity suit. He was a founding member of the American College of Surgeons, its second president (1916–1917), and chairman of the Board of Regents (1913–1939). Crile was a teacher, lecturer, and author who published more than 400 papers and 24 books. In this report the authors trace the relationship between Crile and Cushing from their initial competition for a staff surgeon's position to their common interest in blood pressure, and their roles in the American Ambulance in France and later in World War I.

Residency training in neurological surgery, 1934–1984: evolution over 50 years of trial and tribulation

1984 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 999-1004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byron Cone Pevehouse
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Socioeconomic Factors ◽  
Residency Training ◽  
American Association ◽  
The United States ◽  
Neurosurgical Training ◽  
Professional Liability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Neurological Surgery ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) reviews formal neurosurgical training in the United States from its inception with one program in 1934 to 1984, with 94 programs and 650 residents. He reports on the 1st year's experience with a national neurosurgical residency matching plan. He presents realistic remedies for today's professional liability dilemma and analyzes socioeconomic factors that have led to the complex challenges facing neurosurgeons in this decade, relating the importance of the AANS mission and goals in resolving these issues.

William Osler and “the special field of neurological surgery”

1989 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 759-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Canale
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Johns Hopkins Hospital ◽  
Surgical Specialty ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Considerable Contribution ◽  
Neurological Surgery ◽  
William Osler ◽  
Fine Print

✓ Harvey Cushing's paper, “The special field of neurological surgery,” published in the Bulletin of The Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1905, constitutes a recognized milestone in the establishment of neurological surgery as a separate surgical specialty in the United States. The main point the author wishes to make here is that the very special friendship of Sir William Osler, influencing, encouraging, stimulating Cushing at the particular time that it did (1901 to 1905), was probably the primary positive influence that made it possible for Cushing to achieve specialization in neurological surgery and to make his considerable contribution in this field.

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