Robert William METCALF1936–1991

preserve these memories with Lady Mercer and her son David.

served as a prototype for many of the outpatient surgical centers that would come into being in the next decade, demonstrating that operations could be done rapidly, at a much reduced cost. This trend has had a major impact on surgery.

Dr. Metcalf joined the faculty at the University of Utah and was appointed Professor of Orthopedic Surgery in 1983. He gave hundreds of presentations on arthroscopy, nationally and internationally. Although he was not a prolific writer, Bob was responsible for several important publications in his field. He was a member of many societies, serving on many committees of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and as president, in 1984, of the Arthroscopy Association of North America, to name a few.

He contributed immensely to the Orthopedic Research and Education Foundation, serving as chairman for the State of Utah from 1980 to 1983.

He was also active in the Western Orthopedic Association and the Utah State Medical Associa- tion. One of the honors of which he was most proud was being named “Mr. Sports Medicine”

by the American Orthopedic Society of Sports Medicine in 1983.

Perhaps Bob Metcalf’s greatest professional achievements were the 26 national seminars on arthroscopic surgery that he organized and con- ducted between 1978 and 1991. His tremendous personal efforts and organizational skills were apparent each year. These seminars were amaz- ingly successful; with a total registration of 9,325 orthopedic surgeons, they represent a unique edu- cational effort in orthopedics. It was the continu- ing credibility of Bob Metcalf that brought new and returning registrants to the seminars.

In 1958, Bob married his friend and lifelong companion, Joyce Hawkes. They had ten chil- dren, to whom he devoted a major portion of his life. At his seminars, the children were apparent everywhere, helping him with details.

It might be that Robert Metcalf’s greatest legacy was not to orthopedics but rather to humanity. He was a devoutly religious man, having been a bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Always eager to share the tenets in which he believed, he was continu- ously involved in missionary work throughout the world. Four of his sons also completed a 2-year, full-time mission for the Latter-Day Saints. The orthopedic community lost a true educator and a good friend when Robert William Metcalf died unexpectedly on June 2, 1991, in his beloved Salt Lake City, Utah. He was at a meeting of the Inter-

Who’s Who in Orthopedics

Robert William METCALF

1936–1991

Bob Metcalf was born in Salt Lake City on Sep- tember 12, 1936. He received his undergraduate and graduate education at the University of Utah and received a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1962. After 2 years of postgraduate training in general surgery, he spent 2 years in the United States Army. He then returned to the University of Utah to complete his orthopedic residency, before entering a career that would ultimately affect many of us.

Dr. Metcalf entered private practice in Provo, Utah, and became very active in sports medicine as the team physician for Brigham Young Uni- versity, a position that he held for more than 10 years. During that time, he cared for and influ- enced many outstanding young athletes.

In the mid-1970s, Bob Metcalf became intensely interested in arthroscopy, and this pursuit profoundly affected the rest of his profes- sional life. After joining the individuals who were pioneering this adolescent discipline, his zeal became readily apparent, and his natural talent as an educator allowed him to have an influence on thousands of orthopedic surgeons.

In 1979, he moved his practice to Salt Lake

City, where he became instrumental in develop-

ing the Salt Lake Surgical Center. The center

national Arthroscopy Association in Toronto when he was suddenly stricken with a myocardial infarction, and he died 2 weeks later, after return- ing home.

death, was honored by election as Membre d’Honeur, Société Française d’Orthopédie et de Traumatologie.

His contributions comprised in papers and books reflect his broad interests in orthopedics.

He described the syndrome of ischial epiphysitis, bone changes in Gaucher’s disease, and the entity which, when fully outlined, became osteoid osteoma. He pioneered in the study of bone form by means of photoelastic stress analysis, urged cross-union in the treatment of tibial pseudarthro- sis, and discussed the effects of resection of the distal end of the ulna and cuff resection of the ulna.

He was interested in joint-axis disturbances. He studied dislocations of the head of the radius, of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb, of the distal end of the ulna, and of the temporo- mandibular joint; he investigated anomalous instabilities of the elbow, shoulder and hip joints and sought to restore joint stability, devising pro- cedures for the reconstruction of the deltoid liga- ment in pronated flat foot, for repair of the tibial collateral ligaments of the knee, for correction of the buttonhole rupture of the finger extensors, and for reinforcement of the unstable metacarpopha- langeal joint of the thumb. He studied the signif- icance of localized cruciate ligament loss.

Problems of alignment and osteotomy attracted him; he wrote on rotation osteotomy of the ulna for pronation contracture of the forearm and on extension osteotomy of the femora for alignment of the severely flexed trunk in spondylitis ankylopoetica.

An avid mathematician since college days, he never ceased being interested in mathematical analysis of alignment disturbances. Deformities of the long bones, especially at the upper end of the femur, occupied much of his time in later years. His major interest was the study of the effect of resection of the femoral neck combined with a pelvic-support osteotomy on the disability caused by hip ankylosis (angulation-resection operation).

Monographs on osteotomy of the long bones, on injuries and diseases of the ischium, and on fracture surgery, combined with approximately 175 papers reflect his enthusiasm, his energy, and his imaginative and often individualistic approach to the field of medicine to which he was so devoted.

A critical worker, he regretted, like many before him, that he could not start his professional life where he had to leave off—that he would not

Who’s Who in Orthopedics

Henry MILCH

1895–1964

Dr. Milch was born in New York City, December 20, 1895, the son of Jacob Milch. He was edu- cated at Columbia College and served as a lieu- tenant in the infantry in World War I. He received his medical education at the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, interned at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, spent a year abroad studying pathology and returned to be an adjunct surgeon at the Broad Street Hospital. In 1927 he married Pearl Salzberg. He was survived by his wife, his daughter June Ruth Dubow, his son Robert Austin Milch and four grandchildren. In 1923, he joined the staff of the Hospital for Joint Diseases. In 1960, in his 40th year of hospital service, he became emeritus attending orthopedic surgeon. He was also consulting orthopedic surgeon to numerous city hospitals throughout these years.

His activities, locally, were many. From 1929 to 1956 he taught anatomy at his medical school.

He accepted civic responsibility, giving much

time to the New York City Police Department, the

American Legion, and the Civil Service Com-

mission. He was an active member in many pro-

fessional societies and, several years before his