John Blair Deaver
John Blair Deaver (25 July 1855 - 25 September 1931) was an American surgeon, the chief of surgery at the German Hospital in Philadelphia.
Deaver was born in Buck, Lancaster County, PA in 1855 into a medical family. His father, Joshua Montgomery Deaver, was a country doctor, and his brothers Richard and Harold also became physicians. He attended West Nottingham Academy in Maryland and briefly became a teacher to pay for his medical education. Deaver graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in 1878, and interned at the Childrens' Hospital of the Mary Drexel Home and The German Hospital, now Lankenau Medical Center.
In his early days as a doctor, Deaver worked alongside his physician brothers making house calls and performing surgeries in patients' homes.[1]
During his long career at Lankenau Hospital, Deaver was considered an innovator and sometimes a radical in the field of abdominal surgery. He revolutionized abdominal surgery, particularly the appendectomy. As a proponent of immediate surgery to address appendicitis, Deaver's approach was often considered aggressive at a time when surgical interventions were not the norm. However, he typically performed all surgical actions and thus placed responsibility on himself for both the decision to operate and the outcome of the procedure. "Cut well, get well, stay well," was a motto often repeated by Deaver. In 1924 he stated, "If when I am taken to my reward, I am known as nothing else, I shall be satisfied to have as my epitaph: 'He fought a good fight- his life was a continuous war on the vermiform appendix."[2]
Deaver was appointed Chief of the Surgical Department at German Hospital in 1897, and held this position until 1931. He was appointed Surgeon-In-Chief shortly before his death. A phenomenally prolific surgeon, Deaver is estimated to have performed 100,000 procedures during the course of his medical career. He is the inventor of the Deaver Retractor, a medical instrument still in use during deep abdominal surgeries today.
Deaver taught Anatomy and Surgery at U. Penn, and was made John Rhea Barton Professor of Surgery in 1918. He was also professor of surgery at the Women's Medical College, and a surgeon at the Philadelphia Hospital and the Kensington Hospital for Women. He was among the founders of the American College of Surgeons, President of the Interstate Post-Graduate Medical Association of North America, and member of many other surgical societies. He wrote five textbooks and nearly 250 articles.[3]
In 1889, Deaver married Caroline Randall and they had four children: Elizabeth, John, Harriet and Joshua. John B. Deaver's son, Joshua Montgomery Deaver, would also become a physician with a long career at Lankenau Medical Center.[4]
He was interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.[10]
References
- ^ Ivy, Robert H. "Personal recollections of the organization and founders of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons". Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 1971 May; Vol. 47(5):438-44. doi: 10.1097/00006534-197105000-00005. PMID: 4930002.
- ^ Romm, Sharon MD (June 1984). "John Blair Deaver", Contemporary Surgery, Vol. 24
- ^ Deaver, John B. (1987-01-01). "John Blair Deaver". Diseases of the Colon & Rectum. 30 (1): 66–71. doi:10.1007/BF02556930. ISSN 1530-0358. S2CID 74777839.(subscription required)
- ^ Jansen, Roy (June 1961). "Special Articles: Medical Heritage", The Pennsylvania Medical Journal, p. 788-789.
- ^ Powell, John L. (March 2001). "John Blair Deaver, MD (1855–1931)". Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery. 7 (2): 56. ISSN 2151-8378.(subscription required)
- ^ Haubrich, William S. (2006-10-01). "Deaver of the Deaver Retractor". Gastroenterology. 131 (4): 1366. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2006.08.047. ISSN 0016-5085.(subscription required)
- ^ Newhook, Timothy E.; Yeo, Charles J.; Maxwell, Pinckney J. (2012). "John Blair Deaver, M.D., and his marvelous retractor". Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles. 78 (2): 155–156. PMID 22369821.
- ^ Raffensperger, John G. (2012). Children's Surgery: A Worldwide History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-7864-6825-6.
- ^ "Hall of Eponyms | The British Association of Urological Surgeons Limited". www.baus.org.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ "John Blair Deaver M.D." www.remembermyjourney.com. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
External links
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