Ann Thorac Surg 2003;76:S2-S10
© 2003 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Supplement
Historical origin of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association
Harold C. Urschel, Jr., MDa*
a Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgical Research, Education and Clinical Excellence, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
* Address reprint requests to Dr Urschel, Baylor University Medical Center, 3600 Gaston Ave, Suite 1201, Dallas, TX 75246, USA
e-mail: drurschel{at}earthlink.net
Presented at the 50th Anniversary of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association, Bonita Springs, FL, Nov 14, 2003.
The Second World War provided marked impetus to the field of thoracic surgery as well as to the formation of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association (STSA) in 1953 (Appendix Tables A1 and A2). The Empyema Commission of World War I had been refined; chest trauma in World War II had taken a marked leap forward with the use of blood transfusions and better anesthesia, all coming together to stimulate this young field, which previously had been primarily devoted to tuberculosis. Doctor Dwight Harken had published the outcomes of 100 foreign body removals from the heart, another stimulus from the Second World War.
The STSA was developed as a forum for the rapidly expanding field of thoracic surgery in the United States. Except for the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) there was no other organization for presenting or publishing scientific thoracic surgical information. Although the initial concept for a regional association was excellent, the initial planning failure resulted from the meeting at the Southern Medical Association (SMA), which did not have the support of most AATS members from the South. The final impetus for success occurred at the 1953 AATS meeting in Montreal, which was attended by most of the thoracic surgery leaders of the South. They developed a constitution and elected officers and significant support materialized (Appendix Tables A3 and A4).
Mission
The primary purpose of the new association was to disseminate knowledge, information and stimulate progress of thoracic surgery in the South. The secondary objective was to promote fellowship among thoracic surgeons. These remain our major goals today. The excellent scientific program combined with a strong bond of fellowship have been responsible for the marked success and growth of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association.
Thoracic surgery organizational time line
The AATS had been in existence since 1917 as the only forum for the presentation of new scientific work (Table 1). The American Board of Thoracic Surgery (ABTS) had been founded as a subboard of the American Board of Surgery (ABS) in 1948. In 1953 the first cross-circulation experiments were being performed in Minneapolis between parents and children in lieu of the heart-lung machine. Mitral valve commisurotomy was becoming a common operation and Dr John Gibbon achieved the first successful open heart operation on May 6, 1953, all giving further impetus to thoracic surgery.
Governance structure
The STSA governance was modeled after the AATS and consisted of a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer, historian and editor. The council consisted of a group of elected individuals and the past president became the chairman of the council, which is slightly different from the AATS (or almost any other organization). The value is that it allows the president the freedom to be removed from administrative problems until the year after he finishes his presidential term.
In 1979 a professional partnership with Walter Purcell and Betty Perkins of Smith-Bucklin, Inc, who had worked with the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) was negotiated by President Hal Urschel. This close relationship lasted more than 20 years after which the STSA moved to "internal management" in conjuction with the STS at the American College of Surgeons headquarters.
Unique STSA awards
Olser Abbott Award
The Olser Abbott Award is presented to the member of the Association who has distinguished himself or herself in the delicate art of "discussionmanship." One of the original reasons for initiating the STSA was to focus on the importance of open, frank, and candid discussion in the spirit of objectivity, supportive critique, and learning. It also is a way to improve friendship and enhance the camaraderie and esprit de corps of the membership.
The award was named after Olser Abbott of Atlanta, Georgia, who in 1952 at the AATS meeting in Dallas discussed 26 of the 28 papers on the program. He discussed his own paper, he discussed the discussions of other people's papers: it was an obvious example of what is inappropriate. Therefore the award was named in his honor. One of the gods of the Caribbean was chosen in 1960 as the symbol by Doctor James L. (Brandy) Alexander of Savannah and Col. Ed Smith of the US Air Force and it was called the Ebony Lady or the Black Witch of Jamaica (Fig 1).
It was to be awarded to that person who discussed frequently, inappropriately, pompously, or arrogantly one's own discussion and others' discussions. A conscious effort to secure the award is deprecated. Originally the winner was selected by a secret society of three or four members (Tom Lamasney, Brandy Alexander, Ed Smith) in addition to any previous winners. The award was presented the subsequent year by the previous year's winner.
The first winner of the Osler Abbott Award was Dr Joseph Peabody who possessed all the talents necessary for winning this award. Each of the first five winners embodied a particular characteristic quality of a winner. Joe blatantly represented the first quality, namely Possession of Slides (Fig 2).
To win this award one does not just spontaneously arise and talk, one must come equipped with an adequate number and variety of slides. Joe was the only person I knew who consistently paid excess baggage charges whenever he attended a meeting just to transport his solitary pulmonary nodule slides.
Oratorical Skill is also a prime prerequisite. There is no better example of this talent than the 1961 winner, the silver-tongued "would-be Senator" from Dallas, Dr Milton V. Davis (Fig 3).
Another talent paramount to seducing the Ebony Lady is that of Showmanship. An outstanding example is the third winner, E. Converse Pierce, who not only discussed but also read a paper before this distinguished organization wearing a pair of Scotch plaid Bermuda shorts (Fig 4).
And to be an effective discussionist it is obligatory to speak with Authority. If one also has a scholarly mien, so much the better. There is no question that the 1963 winner wears the mantle of Scholar. In that memorable year he wore the deserved cloak of authority as President of this organization. President Lewis Bosher (Fig 5)
typified these two traits admirably.
The 1964 winner of course shared all these qualities but he also possessed another critical ingredient in the recipe for a winner. He had been a runner-up every year from the inception of the Award. A weaker person might have given up. He had tried unsuccessfully to discuss several Presidential Addresses. When all else failed he made sure that he was a member of the committee to select the winner (it is rumored that he cast the deciding ballot in a hotly contested race): Sam Stephenson (Fig 6)
possessed Perseverance. The final characteristic, Modesty, was evidenced by Dr Bert Glass, the sixth winner in 1965 (Fig 7).
Several members have won more than once including Milton Davis, the only three-time winner; Bert Glass, Alex Haller, and Joe Peabody are two-time winners. Olser Abbott himself won the award in 1967 in Atlanta by outdoing his original AATS namesake performance. Later the award became offensive to certain members and it was revised to a more proper upbeat critique that was actually a learning experience in itself. The Osler Abbott Award is now presented the night of the banquet as one of the highlights of the meeting.
The Tiki Award
The Tiki Award (Fig 8)
was established in 1964 by Dr Joe Peabody to emphasize the importance of well-planned and well-prepared slides. The selected slide may contain too much information or be unintelligible, confusing, cluttered, or irrelevant. It is in contrast to a clear, concise, colorful, pertinent, state-of-the art graphics presenting the idea simply in a straightforward fashion. The award was named after Tiki, the Polynesian god of fertility because "one slide begets another." The first winner in 1964 was Dr Watts Webb (Fig 9A, C).
Doctors Razzuk and Robiscek (Fig 9, B–E) are the only two members who have won the award more than once (twice each).
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Fig 9. (A) Doctor Watts Webb's slide, the first winner of the Tiki Award. (B) Doctor Razzuk's slide no. 1, two-time winner. (C) Doctor Razzuk's slide no. 2, two-time winner. (D) Doctor Robicsek's slide no. 1, two-time winner. (E) Doctor Robicsek's slide no. 2, two-time winner.
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Two pictures (Fig 10, A and B)
of the Ochsner Clinical Group—the only institution with four winners of the Tiki Award—depict Dr Ochsner's reactions, which are self-explanatory. Noel Mills won the award in 1984, Mike McFaddin in 1994, John Ochsner in 1996, and Cliff VanMeter in 1997.
When traveling to any other scientific meeting one applies the Tiki Award selection criteria subconsciously to all slides presented. It is a marvelous teaching and critiquing modality and is one of the unique features of the STSA.
President's Award for best scientific paper
The President's Award for the best scientific paper is another unique aspect of the STSA, given to the presenter of the best paper as determined by the President and aided by an advisory committee who participate in the selection process. It was established in 1964 by President Lewis Bosher through a grant from Smith, Kline and French and is the Association's highest honor. The only person winning it twice is now Majority Leader of the US Senate, Senator Bill Frist.
Only three members have received all three of the unique awards: the President's Award for best scientific paper, the Olser Abbott Award for discussionmanship, and the Tiki Award for the most unique slide: those three are Dr Bert Glass, Dr Alex Haller, Jr, and Dr Hal Urschel.
The past presidents organization
At the meeting in Wesley Chapel, Florida in 1992 several past presidents including Cole, Cook, Munnel, Pate, Rosenburg, Pate, and Urschel felt that there was nothing to do on Saturday night after the meeting concluded. Since we had to stay over anyway for reduced airfare purposes we decided to have a past presidents "get together" for social reasons. This was President Munnel's "brain child" and he appointed Hal Urschel to make the arrangements.
The first meeting occurred on November 6, 1993, at Marriot Bay Point Resort in Panama City, Florida. Seventeen past presidents and spouses attended and it was a delightful social occasion. Occasionally a short speech or discussion occurred but the primary goal was social. That has continued up to our more recent meetings. Because the banquet was changed to Saturday night, the past presidents' dinner was moved to Thursday evening. We usually have cocktails in the current president's suite followed by a dinner, and the event has become increasingly popular. The STSA is anything but an elitist organization and I think the past presidents' dinner compliments the other aspects and goals of the STSA.
The seal of the STSA
President Munnel in 1967 commissioned a Seal Committee chaired by Robert Ellison and consisting of Bill Hopkins and Gene Linberg. All members submitted drafts and that of Ellison was selected. It consisted of a heart, a lung, a torch, and the book of knowledge on a background of the Southern States. They suggested color but it was never added
Firsts
Dick Bass, the first individual to summit the tallest mountain on each of the seven continents, said, "Records are made to be broken, but firsts are forever."
The first female member was Carolyn Reed in 1991. She is professor of surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charlotte, South Carolina. She was the first female officer as secretary-treasurer, the first female winner of the Osler Abbot award, and the first female director and examiner of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.
The first African-American member of the organization, Dr Olyn Walker, was inducted in 1976 and presented the paper "Bronchogenic Cysts: Problems in Diagnosis and Management." He trained at the Brook Army Hospital in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery and became chief of several major thoracic centers in the military. He entered private practice in 1984 in Dallas, Texas, and moved to Wichita Falls in 1987 where he presently resides and continually supports the STSA.
Committee to study the future of STSA (1973)
Report of the ad hoc committee for goals and directions of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association
In 1972 the Ad Hoc Committee for Goals and Directions of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association was established to evaluate the future goals and directions of the Association based on its past and present function and the desires of the membership. Preservation of a strong scientific program, informal discussion, and outstanding fellowship and camaraderie were of concern in light of the expanding membership. These important problems, cardinal to any organization, were assessed by the Committee and recommendations were made and returned to the membership for their opinion. This paper presents the results of the Committee's inquiry (Table 1).
In 1972 the past presidents of the STSA met to discuss some of the important issues that had arisen at that particular stage in the life of the organization. Their recommendations were summarized as follows: (1) Membership should not be limited, but all candidates should be evaluated critically. (2) Certain issues and practices should be avoided. Economics and politics should be dealt with elsewhere so that the Association would be able to focus on purely scientific matters. Breaking up into panels and workshops was thought to be objectionable. (3) Both meeting site policy and attendance requirements should remain the same.
The Ad Hoc Committee for Goals and Directions of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association was formed. Its purpose was to evaluate the future goals and directions of the Association based on the past and present function of the STSA and the desires of the membership. The following members were appointed to the Committee: James W. Brooks, MD, Richmond, Virginia; A. Robert Cordell, MD, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Bert A. Glass, MD, New Orleans, Louisiana; William Lee, MD, Charleston, South Carolina; Edward R. Munnell, MD, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; James W. Pate, MD, Memphis, Tennessee; and Harold C. Urschel, Jr, MD (Chairman), Dallas, Texas.
As its initial function the Ad Hoc Committee met concomitantly with The Society of Thoracic Surgeons in January 1973 and with the American Association for Thoracic Surgery in April 1973 to discuss the mission of the Committee and the mechanics that might be involved in achieving its purpose.
After the thoughts and feelings of the Committee were amalgamated with those of the membership, the following recommendations were made to the Association.
Purpose: (1) preserve a strong clinical scientific direction; (2) maintain fellowship.
Program: (1) strengthen informality and discussion; (2) encourage balance of subjects.
Membership: (1) do not limit total number; (2) encourage members to sponsor only outstanding candidates; (3) adhere strictly to the requirement that 50% of the operations performed by members be in thoracic surgery; (4) eliminate attendance requirements; and (5) hold every other meeting at a resort off the United States mainland.
The past meetings of the STSA with locations, presidents, and secretaries are noted in Table A5.
