publication in the Academy’s Transactions, it was used extensively in the American Civil War. In military affairs, wars always are an invitation to observers from foreign services. The simplicity and effectiveness of Buck’s traction very quickly entered into European and subsequently world- wide use. Today, over 100 years after its presen- tation, Buck’s traction, whether attached to adhesive strips, moleskin, foam rubber strips or Steinmann nails, is still the most frequently employed apparatus to be found in civilian or armed service hospitals. Buck’s title refers to fractures of the femur because he used it first in such cases. It was shortly used in fractures of other long bones, especially tibia and humerus. It must be noted that the conception of pulley trac- tion was first presented by Guy de Chauliac of the University of Montpellier in the fourteenth century. The concept of sustained pulley traction was of course a great contribution to fracture management. However, Guy’s splints and band- ages were so cumbersome that there is little evi- dence in surgical literature of his system being used until Gurdon Buck devised his workable apparatus 400 years later.
Gurdon Buck was one of the most prolific and imaginative surgeons of the New York school of the mid-nineteenth century and his important con- tributions covered many fields. His other contri- butions, as important as they were in his time, have become stepping stones to further advance, but Buck’s Traction remains very much part of contemporary orthopedics and traumatology. He also was known for his charitable activities.
Two of his sons followed him into the medical profession.
Reference
1. Buck G (1845) The knee-joint ankylosed at a right angle—restored nearly to a straight position after excision of a wedge-shaped portion of bone, con- sisting of the patella, condyles, and articular surface of the tibia. Am J Med Sci 10:277–284
Sterling BUNNELL
1882–1957
Dr. Bunnell was born in San Francisco in 1882, the son of James Sterling Bunnell and Catherine Mapes Bunnell. The beginning of his scientific endeavors came early. At the age of 6 years, he was starting to probe into the mysteries of animal life and this intense interest led him deeper into the field of anatomy and the natural sciences as he grew into manhood. His accomplishments in this field alone were outstanding.
Entering the University of California, he obtained his academic degree in 1904 and his medical degree in 1908. For a time thereafter, he was associated with the University but later entered private practice in San Francisco, where he was to remain throughout his lifetime.
Early in his medical career he recognized the undeveloped state of extremity surgery and was soon deeply engaged in extremity surgical prob- lems in the laboratory, where he carried out exten- sive experimental work on tendon and nerve sutures and grafts and on skeletal structures and joints. The basic facts thus learned were to be used later in restoring function to vast numbers of human crippled extremities.
During World War I, Dr. Bunnell served as a medical officer in the United States Army from May 1917 to March 1919, holding the rank of Captain. He was associated with Base Hospital No. 47, and saw action in France while a member of Operating Team 101. During this time, he developed a keen interest in aviation, and, on his return to San Francisco, he piloted his own plane, 47
Who’s Who in Orthopedics
using this means of transportation to travel to nearby cities for consultation or surgery up until 1926. He was at one time President of the National Aeronautical Society of the West, and in local circles he was frequently referred to as the
“flying surgeon”. As further evidence of his avi- ation interests, he published in 1930 a most inter- esting treatise entitled Aeronautics of Bird Flight.
During his military service, his professional contacts with the wounded further stimulated his interest in the reconstructive aspect of surgery, and many of the challenging problems at this time were to be solved later by his own efforts.
On his return home he engaged in a general sur- gical practice. He was adept in all surgical proce- dures, encompassing all of the surgical specialties as they exist today. As examples of his diverse interests and attainments he published on such topics as cleft-palate repair, arterial suture, a pos- itive pressure apparatus to be used during thora- cotomy, and a guide for the Smith–Petersen nail.
His first publication on the upper extremity came in 1918 and was entitled Repair of Tendons in the Fingers and Description of Two New Instruments. Following this and at intervals during his lifetime, he produced over 50 papers covering many aspects of reconstructive and plastic surgery. These original contributions encompassed such subjects as atraumatic tech- nique, physiological reconstruction of the thumb after total loss, the pull-out suture, nerve grafts for repair of extremity nerves and the facial nerve, active splinting, intrinsic-muscle contracture of the hand, tendon transfers for the upper extrem- ity, plastic aspects of reconstruction, surgery of the rheumatic hand, and many others.
In 1944, the first edition of the monumental book, Surgery of the Hand, was published. In this text, Dr. Bunnell carefully and exactly docu- mented the principles of reconstructive surgery that are applicable to all parts of the body, although the main emphasis was directed toward the upper extremity and hand. Revised editions in 1948 and again in 1956 were in keeping with the rapid developments in hand surgery during World War II, in the immediate post-war years, and sub- sequently. He was eager to keep this publication up to date.
Surgery of the Hand rapidly achieved world- wide distribution and was translated for publica- tion in the Spanish and German languages. The book is and will continue to be a contribution never to be forgotten in the annals of medical literature.
Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Dr.
Bunnell was called into service as civilian medical consultant by Dr. Norman T. Kirk, then Surgeon General of the United States Army.
During his tour of duty, which was over a 3-year period, he organized and established nine hand centers in army general hospitals throughout the USA. His untiring efforts resulted in great advances in the handling of wartime hand injuries and their later reconstruction. He visited each hand center periodically, holding clinics, per- forming surgery, and training innumerable medical officers to carry on the work. For his outstanding service to the army he received the United States Medal for Merit.
Broad military contacts resulted in a develop- ment of great interest in the field of hand surgery, particularly among the younger men in the service, and culminated in the organization of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand in 1946. Dr. Bunnell served as the Society’s first president. Up to the time of his death, he con- tinued as its guiding force and as a source of inspiration to its members. In addition, he was instrumental in encouraging the formation of hand clubs or societies in Scandinavia, England, South America, and Japan.
After the war, and with some misgivings, he gave up his general surgical practice to devote his full time to reconstructive surgery.
To the casual observer, Dr. Bunnell appeared quiet, almost retiring in nature. To his closer acquaintances, however, he was dynamic and untiring. He was blessed with great physical stamina, which served him well, both in his pro- longed hours of study and work and on the many rugged hunting, fishing, and collecting trips, which were his particular pleasure and source of relaxation. His modesty and lack of fear were among his dominant characteristics. He displayed great warmth of personality and to his immediate contemporaries he was affectionately known as
“Bunny.”
He was for many years a member and active participant in the Olympic Club and in the Bohemian Club of San Francisco. Professionally, Dr. Bunnell’s life was characterized by complete devotion to the science of surgery. He was a master of comparative and human anatomy, sub- jects that to him were of living and vital interest.
His surgery was clever, fast, and accurate. He was never thwarted by an unexpected condition or event, and he strove untiringly for perfection in his work. His judgment was unerring and his deci- 48
Who’s Who in Orthopedics
sions were promptly executed. His thinking was always along the lines of basic principles, the details to fall in line as a natural expression of his skill. He was never a defeatist; he was always hopeful, no matter how serious or complicated the case. His searching mind and the ready applica- tion of new ideas kept him from being mired in stereotype procedures, thus ensuring his rapid advance in his chosen field.
With his associates, Dr. Bunnell stressed the same sound principles of surgery he practiced himself and was critical if his student failed to rise to this standard. As a result, he has left us not only the fruits of his labors in the way of scientific accomplishment, but also the in- spiration that he so dynamically displayed during his lifetime. Through his efforts, surgery of the hand has been nourished and developed to the state of worldwide recognition it enjoys today.
The acceptance of his scientific and surgical accomplishments came early, both in the United States and abroad, as evidenced by society mem- berships and awards. He was a licentiate of the American Boards of General, Plastic, and Ortho- pedic Surgery. He was an honorary member of the American Orthopedic Association, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the Western Orthopedic Association, the California Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Societal Latino-Americana de Ortopedia y Traumatologia, an honorary fellow of the British Orthopedic Association, and a foreign corresponding member of the Societas Ortopedica Scandinavica. He was a member of the American Surgical Association, American Association of Plastic Surgeons, American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, American Society for Surgery of the Hand, and an emeritus member of the Hand Club of Great Britain. He was a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association (1951–1953).
He was consultant to the Surgeon General of the United States Army, to the United States Navy, and to the Alaska Department of Health. He received the United States Medal for Merit, Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur, and Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul.
He was a member of the Sigma Nu medical fra- ternity and the Sigma Xi scientific society. In San Francisco, he was a staff member of the Stanford University Hospital, the St. Francis Memorial Hospital, and Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Sterling Bunnell, world renowned surgeon, teacher, and author of Surgery of the Hand died at his home in San Francisco on August 20, 1957. His death ended an active life of scientific inquiry and accomplishment. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth Bunnell, and a son, Sterling Bunnell, Jr.
The name of Sterling Bunnell is destined to be one of the great names in the profession for posterity.
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Who’s Who in Orthopedics
Sir Stanford CADE
1895–1973
Stanford Cade was born in St. Petersburg, received his early schooling in Antwerp, and entered the Medical School of the University of Brussels in 1913. In 1914, he joined the Belgian Army, and at the fall of Antwerp, he was evacu- ated to England where he resumed his medical studies. He qualified at Westminster Hospital, where he was appointed to the surgical staff in 1924.
He was a broadly experienced general surgeon, but developed a special and overriding interest in the treatment of malignant diseases not only by surgery but also by radiotherapy and, in due course, chemotherapy. He was, thanks to the encouragement of Ernest Rock Carling, one of the pioneers of the use of radium, especially for oral cancer. His enormous experience in this field is encapsulated in his book Malignant Disease and its Treatment by Radium, first published in 1940 with a four-volume second edition in 1948, which remains a classic. He also wrote extensively on
