Julius Salem NEVIASER1902–1980

Julius Salem NEVIASER

1902–1980

Julius Salem Neviaser was born in Brandywine, Maryland, on October 21, 1902, but his family

John B. MURPHY

1857–1916

John B. Murphy was born near Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1857 of immigrant Irish parents.

He was raised on a farm, attended country school, and graduated from the high school in Appleton.

He began to study medicine as a preceptor of a local physician and at the age of 21 went to Chicago to attend Rush Medical College, which was located directly across the street from the Cook County Hospital. He became a protégé of Christian Fenger, who urged him to further his education by visiting the famous clinics abroad.

Returning to Chicago in 1884, he gradually estab- lished himself in private practice as a surgeon, and he eventually married the daughter of one of his wealthy patients.

Murphy was an ambitious, hard-working entrepreneur who popularized the diagnosis and operative treatment of appendicitis, devised the first widely used method of intestinal anastomo- sis, the Murphy button, and refined the techniques of arthroplasty. He became a professor of surgery at the Rush Medical College and at the North- western Medical College. In 1911 he was elected president of the American Medical Association.

Murphy’s flamboyant personality attracted and held the attention of the local and even the national press. He was not loved by his colleagues in Chicago, who felt that he sought publicity to enlarge his practice. He died of a coronary occlu- sion in 1916.

It is significant that his biography by Loyal Davis is entitled, J.B. Murphy: Stormy Petrel of

Surgery.

When the years pass and the tumult and the shouting dies, it is possible to evaluate such an individual on the basis of his accomplishments rather than his personality. By this measure, Murphy must be rated highly as an innovative and bold surgeon who enriched a wide variety of special areas in surgery, including orthopedics.

The significance of Murphy’s work on arthro- plasty was appreciated by the MacAuslands,

who, in their recapitulation of the development of the techniques of arthroplasty, state: “The credit for the development of the fascial flap method is due to the late John B. Murphy, of Chicago, who was more persevering than any other surgeon in his endeavor to restore motion to ankylosed joints. The method devised by Murphy has formed the basis of the great majority of modern arthroplastic measures.”

References

1. Davis L (1938) J.B. Murphy: Stormy Petrel of Surgery. New York, G.P. Putnam’s Sons

2. MacAusland WR, MacAusland AR (1929) The Mobilisation of Ankylosed Joints by Arthroplasty.

Philadelphia, Lea and Febiger

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Who’s Who in Orthopedics

moved to Washington when he was a young child.

He was graduated from McKinley High School in 1920 and received his AB and MD degrees from George Washington University in 1923 and 1927, respectively.

His internship was taken at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore; in 1928 he moved to New York City to accept an orthopedic surgery residency at the Hospital for Joint Diseases. He completed his res- idency in 1930 and then stayed on as a teaching assistant for an additional year. When he returned to his home in Washington, it was to begin a prac- tice in orthopedic surgery that would last for 50 years. In 1933 he married Jane Frances Gibbons;

this happy marriage was to last his life through and produce three sons: Jules, Robert, and Thomas. Perhaps he was proudest of the fact that all three followed in his footsteps to become orthopedic surgeons.

Dr. Neviaser held teaching appointments at George Washington University Center and Howard University Medical Center, rising to the rank of clinical professor at both institutions. He initiated and developed teaching programs in orthopedics at Howard University and at the Washington Hospital Center; at the latter he held the chairmanship of orthopedic surgery until 1968, when hospital rules required that he step aside. He maintained numerous hospital appoint- ments and served as a consultant lecturer at the US Naval and Walter Reed Army Medical Centers. He was a diplomate of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery and served as an examiner for the Board for many years. His mem- berships in professional organizations included the American Orthopedic Association, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, the Orthopedic Research Society, the Société Internationale de Chirurgie Orthopédique et de Traumatologie (SICOT), the Mexican Orthopedic Society, and the Latin American Orthopedic Society, as well as such regional societies as the Southeastern Surgical Congress and the Eastern Orthopedic Association.

Dr. Neviaser’s extensive publications began in 1930 and numbered more than 50. His greatest specialty interest was disorders of the shoulder.

From his classic treatise, “Adhesive Capsulitis of the Shoulder. A Study of the Pathological Find- ings in Periarthritis of the Shoulder,” which appeared in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery in 1945 (27: 211–222), to his volume Arthrography of the Shoulder: The Diagnosis and

Management of the Lesions Visualized, published by Charles C. Thomas in 1975, he made a life- long study of shoulder problems. He was invited to publish two instructional courses that he had given, the first on adhesive capsulitis of the shoul- der, in 1949, and the second on injuries in and about the shoulder joint, in 1956. His expertise resulted in new surgical procedures to treat acromioclavicular injuries by transfer of the cora- coacromial ligament, repair old or chronic dislo- cations of the shoulder, use free biceps grafts for rotator cuff defects, and employ freeze-dried cadaver grafts for massive rotator-cuff tears.

For his work on the shoulder he was honored by an invitation to be one of the nine conveners of the Inaugural International Conference on the Shoulder, held in London at the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital in September 1980.

His interest in orthopedic surgery certainly was not limited to the shoulder, however. He pub- lished articles on problems of the hand, neck, femur, humerus, and knee. In addition to his sur- gical treatment of shoulders, he is well known for his meniscectomies involving division of the tibial collateral ligament.

Although much of his life was devoted to orthopedic surgery, Dr. Neviaser did have other interests, mainly centered around his family. He was an avid and enthusiastic golfer and enjoyed stamp and coin collecting. He read extensively, preferring historical subjects to fiction.

Dr. Neviaser was well liked and admired by his peers. He is best remembered for his kindness and encouragement to young orthopedic surgeons and other physicians starting out in practice. He always had a friendly greeting and a smile for everyone. His enthusiasm for his work lasted throughout his entire life. Often, he would stop to discuss shoulder problems with colleagues, who sought him out both at home and at meetings, and he frequently gave advice to orthopedists from around the country, who felt comfortable calling him about shoulder problems. His honesty and willingness to share his experience made him admired, respected, and beloved by orthopedists of all ages and backgrounds. He listened to the opinions of others as well and, although he might have disagreed with them, he respected their right to differ. Typical of his dedication to his work is the approach that he used in gathering data for his investigation of adhesive capsulitis of the shoul- der. Because some of the studies were carried out at autopsies, he often left a full office during the day or his family at home at night to rush off to 241

Who’s Who in Orthopedics

do the necessary dissections. His patients and his family never complained.

His happiest times were spent with his family, especially with his wife, Jane, with whom he shared a mutual devotion. They often were seen together at meetings and social events, on the golf course, or as the most accomplished couple on the dance floor. He enjoyed spending time with his three sons, exchanging ideas and teaching them.

This relationship has stimulated them to continue his lifelong interest in the shoulder, and he con- sidered this his greatest legacy. He never seemed to change over the years, and many colleagues and friends remarked that they felt he would go on forever. He had actively practiced orthopedic surgery up to the time of his death. Julius Neviaser died at his home in Washington, DC, on August 20, 1980, at the age of 77. He was sur- vived by 11 grandchildren as well as the imme- diate family.

surgery. He reported new operations for gas- troenterostomy, esophageal diverticulum, torsion of the systemic cord, and resections in strangu- lated hernia. Nicoladoni described nerve endings in the joint capsules and observations on the bio- mechanics of scoliosis. He was called to Graz as senior professor in 1895, where he died after only 7 years of tenure, at the age of 55.

242 Who’s Who in Orthopedics

Carl NICOLADONI

1847–1902

Carl Nicoladoni was born in Austria and educated in the wonderful Vienna era of the history of medicine and surgery. His principal contributions were varied, numerous, and important. Among hand surgeons, he is famous for his work on tendon transfers and tendon sutures and for his pioneering of pollicization of a toe. He was assis- tant to Dumreicher at Innsbruck and 10 years later was appointed to succeed him as professor of

E.A. NICOLL

1902–1993

The orthopedic establishment in the United Kingdom in the years before the Second World War consisted mainly of men who had worked with Robert Jones, either at Liverpool or at the Military Orthopedic Centre at Shepherds Bush during the First World War. There were some, however, who gradually became orthopedic sur- geons, having started their careers as general sur- geons, and Nicoll, who was not an establishment figure, was one of these.

Born in 1902, he went to Cambridge Univer-

sity and then St. George’s Hospital, London. He

qualified in 1926 and became a general practi-

tioner in Corbridge, Northumberland. The local

cottage hospital was visited regularly by Pro-

fessor Grey-Turner from Newcastle and Nicoll

assisted at operating sessions. He was quickly

converted to surgery and in 1929 became resident

surgical officer in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire,

where he remained for the rest of his professional

career.