The rich history of surgery does not live only in the past—learning about surgical history can provide valuable context that allows surgeons to gain a better understanding of how yesterday’s healthcare developments inform today’s practice.
The History of Surgery Posters exhibit explores surgical innovation and transformation through the years, with 16 posters covering the discovery of revolutionary medications, pioneers in the field, landmark surgical tools and techniques, and more.
The posters are available for viewing 9:00 am–4:30 pm through Wednesday in the Exhibit Hall (Hall A) near ACS Central.
They were selected from a group of more than 280 abstract submissions and will participate in the History of Surgery Poster Competition.
“The main goal is to encourage people—medical students, residents, and Fellows—to do real historical research and make effective use of primary resources,” said Peter J. Kernahan, MD, FACS, incoming Chair of the History and Archives Committee.
Dr. Kernahan is one of six judges evaluating the displayed posters and selecting the first- and second-place winners, who will be announced during the History of Surgery Community Breakfast, 7:00–8:30 am this morning in Room 258 ABC. Registration is not required to attend.
The authors of the two winning posters will be invited to write an in-depth article on their respective topics for a 2024 issue of the ACS Bulletin.
“We wanted a diverse group of young people to get interested in the profession of surgery, and this year there is a diverse set of topics presented,” Dr. Kernahan said.
The titles of the 16 History of Surgery Posters are:
- Performing Under Intense Pressure: Major Abdominal Surgery in a Pressurized Diving Chamber
- Transcending Gender and Racial Barriers: Dr. Margaret Jessie Chung, The First Chinese American Woman Surgeon and “Mom” To World War II Servicemen
- A Successful Research Strategy in Burns: A 34-year Analysis (1964–1998) of the Contributions of Basil A. Pruitt Jr.
- Plea Bargaining with Organs: The Legislative History of Organ Donation in Exchange for Reduced Prison Sentences
- Evita’s Surgeries: The Role of American Surgeons and an Example of Ghost Surgery
- The Miracle Drug: Gordon Murray and Clinical Discovery of Heparin
- Anastomosing Scientific Progress to Social Justice
- Charles Heber McBurney and the Forgotten First Transduodenal Sphincterotomy
- Charlotte Blake Brown, MD—Innovation in Cancer Registration in the 1870s
- Publicly Accessible Resuscitation Tools: Beyond Blowing Smoke
- Resurrectionists: Grave Robbing and the Genesis of Legal Access to Cadavers for Medical and Surgical Education in 1870s Iowa
- Below-Freezing Temperatures in Minnesota Gave Birth to a Technique that Started a New Era in Surgery
- Heretical Origins of Cardiac Surgery: The Story of Ludwig Rehn and the Inviolable Heart
- A History of Colostomy Surgery
- Life Over Limb, A Historical Perspective on Humanity’s Oldest Surgical Procedure
- History Of Natural Hair and Sutures: Perspective in Green Surgery
The History of Surgery Posters also are available for viewing on the online meeting platform or on viewing stations in Room 253ABC.
