Innovations in Surgery
4th Quarter 2012
First annual Scott Society Lecture celebrates history of surgery
W
hen Sunil Geevarghese, M.D.,
president of the H. William
Scott, Jr. Society, was planning the first
Annual Scott Society Lecture he knew
he had to select a speaker whose own
passion for surgical care and education
mirrored that of Dr. Scott.
For the Executive Council of the Scott
Society, it was an easy decision. Since
joining the faculty in 1993, and even
before as a Vanderbilt medical student,
John L. Tarpley, M.D., has become
synonymous with the Vanderbilt surgical
residency.
“What I find most remarkable about
Tarp (as he is known) is not simply his
prodigious love for surgical teaching, it’s
the personal connection he makes with
every patient, every resident,” Geevarghese said. He makes clear that his most
fond ‘fourth’ child are the Vanderbilt
residents.”
In his presentation, Tarpley chronicled
the most important scientific achievements of the last 200 years without
which modern surgery would not be possible, including non-surgical technologies
we now take for granted – climate control, transportation, personal computers
and electricity.
From these now seemingly basic
amenities, five foundational discoveries
in medicine laid the groundwork for 21st
century surgery – anesthesia, antisepsis,
imaging, blood transfusions and antibiotics.
In 1846, the first of these landmark
innovations was the use of inhaled ether
as a form of anesthesia. The operation,
performed in the Ether Dome at Massachusetts General Hospital, was of no
small consequence as the surgeons were
removing a carotid body tumor.
The patient awoke following the
surgery saying, “I don’t
think I can go
through with
this.” News of
this technique
took off like
wildfire and
commenced
the worldwide use of
(l.-r.) Richard Goldstein, M.D., Ph.D., John L. Tarpley, M.D., Sunil Geevarghese, M.D., R. Daniel Beauchamp, M.D., with Scott family Liz and Art McWilliams and Sue and Bill Scott, III.
anesthesia in
surgery in a
Chain and Heatley et al. discovered
matter of just three weeks.
penicillin, which was not produced in
In 1867, Sir Joseph Lister published a
real quantity until World War II. Florey,
paper advocating the use of antiseptics to Chain and Fleming received the Nobel
sterilize surgical instruments and clean
Prize in 1945 for their work on penicillin
wounds to prevent the spread of infecand the introduction of antibiotics.
tion during operations.
These advances, half of which occurred
Though his efforts ultimately led to the well after the first medical degree was
use of antisepsis and antiseptics during
conferred at Vanderbilt in 1874, changed
operative procedures and in the treatboth surgery and surgery education
ment of wounds and injuries, a 20-year
in ways that still impact surgeons and
debate ensued on the necessity of “Lister- residents today.
ism.” German surgeons were the first to
Perhaps future innovations being
embrace antisepsis as early as 1875.
explored today, including personalized
In 1895, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
medicine, robotic surgery, and regenerabecame the father of imaging when
tive medicine and tissue engineering,
he took the first x-ray, an image of his
will too become known as foundational
wife’s hand. From this pioneering effort
discoveries in the continued evolution of
was born CTs, PET scans and MRIs.
surgery.
In 1901, Roentgen won the first Nobel
The First Annual Scott Society Lecture
Prize for his work in this area.
was sponsored by Vanderbilt University
At the same time, Karl Landsteiner, an Medical Alumni Affairs, under the direcAustrian biologist and physician led the
tion of Associate Dean Ann Price, M.D.
world to the next scientific achievement
The standing-room only event was part
that would forever change surgery. From of the 2012 Vanderbilt Medical Alumni
his discovery of the major blood types,
Reunion.
the process of transfusion was born in
The H. William Scott, Jr. Society Lecthe first decade of the 20th century.
ture in Surgical History will take place
And finally, in 1929, Sir Alexander
annually to commemorate the seminal
Fleming, a surgeon, published his obser- contributions of Dr. Scott to Vanderbilt’s
vations on the mold penicillium notatum. ongoing leadership in surgical excellence,
A few years later in the 1930s, Florey,
clinical care, teaching and research. r