Exhibit at Orthopedics Gathering Marks Contributions From Mid-South
By Daniel Connolly, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.
Mar. 5–Memphians played a big role in creating modern orthopedics, the study of diseases and injuries to the muscular and skeletal systems, from curvature of the spine to arthritis of the knee. This week, thousands of people from around the world will be reminded of contributions from the Mid-South.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and an exhibit at the group’s annual conference in San Francisco will likely include an early book by Willis C. Campbell, the Memphis doctor who founded the Campbell Clinic and helped launch the AAOS, said Dr. James J. Hamilton, a 62-year-old orthopedic surgeon based in Kansas City, Mo.
“Memphis can be proud of its involvement in the advancement of orthopedic surgery,” Hamilton said.
He cited the success of Campbell Clinic as a training center for new doctors, the decades-long popularity of various editions of the Memphis-written surgical textbook Campbell’s Operative Orthopaedics, and the rise of orthopedics firms like Richards Medical Co. the predecessor of Smith & Nephew’s orthopedic divisions.
Hamilton said he and colleagues had spent four years preparing for the 75th anniversary celebration.
The results are sweeping: a history exhibit at the conference, an extensive Web site, a photo-heavy coffee table book and another book that tells the history of orthopedics. Memphians figure prominently in the story.
Campbell Clinic has had six presidents of AAOS. The latest, Dr. James H. Beaty, will soon complete his one-year term.
He’ll be one of 23 Campbell Clinic doctors at the conference, said Angie Whitfield, a spokeswoman for the clinic, which plans to celebrate its 100th anniversary next year. (2009).
The association’s 75th anniversary celebration also includes an exhibit of art by patients and orthopedists.
Dr. S. Terry Canale of the Campbell Clinic contributed an acrylic painting, “Nothing About You Without You,” which shows a seated man with an injured right foot waiting outside a clinic. Because a large hat hides the man’s face, it’s hard to tell his ethnicity.
Canale said in a note published on the exhibition’s Web site that the painting is meant to show that doctors should understand different cultures and treat all patients respectfully.
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