History of the Georgia Chapter of the American College of Surgeons – 1966-1978
The 1966 meeting was held on February 8th during the Atlanta Graduate Medical Assembly at the Atlanta Marriott Hotel. The “Day of Surgery” program was outstanding as the visiting speakers were James Hardy, G. Rainey Williams, Tom Shires, and Howard Mahorner. The business meeting of the Chapter was held that afternoon and an Education and Program Committee was appointed as was a Trauma Committee.
The 1967 meeting of the Georgia Chapter occurred on February 7th during the Atlanta Graduate Medical Assembly meeting at the Atlanta Marriott Hotel. The “Day of Surgery” speakers were Alan Thal, Nathan Womack, David Sabiston and Benjamin Byrd. The annual business meeting of the Georgia Chapter was held at the conclusion of the scientific program. The second 1967 meeting occurred on May 1st at the Heart of Atlanta Hotel. This was a luncheon meeting.
The Georgia Chapter met once again for a “Day of Surgery” with the Atlanta Graduate Medical Assembly meeting at the Marriott Hotel on April 16, 1968. The speakers including Curtis Artz of Charleston, Alexandro Castro of Washington, D.C., Robert Coffey, Washington, D.C. and Neil Swinton of Boston. The annual business meeting was held at 5:10 P.M.
At a significant meeting of the Council at the Town House Motel in Augusta on May 6, 1968, the following occurred; “Considerable discussion was given to the question as to whether we should divorce ourselves from the Atlanta Graduate Assembly and from the Medical Association of Georgia and organize a separate meeting to be rotated in different cities around the state”. It should be noted that at some of the early meetings this was the original concept of the Georgia Chapter which had not been followed. It was finally decided that the Georgia Chapter would continue meeting with the Atlanta Graduate Medical Assembly as the Chapter was committed through 1970. However, the idea had been planted for independent meetings thereafter.
The next annual meeting occurred during the Atlanta Graduate Medical Assembly on February 24, 1969 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta. At this meeting, J.D. Martin of Atlanta gave an interesting report on the activities of the Board of Regents including the impact of Medicare and Medicaid on surgery training programs. Guest speakers included James Hardy, Isidore Cohn, Jr., David Hume and John Kirklin. The Chapter meeting with MAG scheduled for May 4, 1969 was canceled. At the annual meeting on March 9, 1970 at the Marriott Hotel in Atlanta, the Education and Program Committee inactivity was discussed. Once again the possibility of a separate meeting was discussed but no decision was reached. It was suggested that the Chapter try to stimulate “students, interns and residents” to submit papers and the paper judged best be presented at the annual meeting. The Chapter would also underwrite the trip to the meeting for the resident winner and his wife.
The March 1-3, 1971 meeting took place at the Marriott Hotel in Atlanta during the Atlanta Graduate Medical Assembly. The speakers were Hugh Lynn of Rochester, Minnesota, Richard Myers of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Norman Waterman of Louisville, Kentucky and Samuel G. Powers of Albany, New York. Members of the Georgia Chapter also met with MAG at the Marriott Motor Hotel in Atlanta May 13, 1971 where a “How I do It Clinic” was held. “Pectus excavatum” was discussed by Richard Keene, “Renovascular Hypertension” by Pano Lamis, “Surgical Treatment of Cerebral Vascular Insuffiency” by Milton Bryant and “Selective Angiography in the Management of Hyperparathyroidism” by Charles Todd.
There were two meetings held in 1972. The first on March 13th was a “Day of Surgery” during the Atlanta Graduate Medical Assembly at the Marriott Motor Hotel in Atlanta. The speakers were Robert Chambers of Baltimore, Stanley Hoerr of Cleveland, Martin Litwin of New Orleans and John Sawyers of Nashville. As usual, a business meeting was held at the end of the Scientific Session. The second 1972 meeting occurred during the 118th annual session of MAG at the Hilton Hotel in Macon. The Chapter meeting occurred on May 11th and the speakers were William Moretz, Robert Parrish, Dean Warren and Atef Salam. There was a business meeting held at lunch after the Scientific Session was concluded.
The 1973 annual meeting was held at the Stouffer Inn in Atlanta on March 5th during the Atlanta Graduate Medical Assembly. The speakers included Benjamin Byrd of Nashville, George Hallenbeck of Birmingham, J. Shelton Horsley of Charlottesville and Norman Nelson of New Orleans. A business meeting convened at 4:45 P.M. The second 1973 meeting was held on May 10th in conjunction with the 119th annual session of MAG held at the Richmond Motor Hotel in Augusta. The program consisted of a panel on “Management of the Multiple Injured Patient” moderated by Carl Jelenko. The panelists included Edward Berg, Thomas Yeh, Pomeroy Nichols, Norman McSwain and C.R.F. Baker, Jr.
The only recorded meeting for 1974 occurred on March 4th at the Stouffer Inn in Atlanta. Once again, a “Day of Surgery” was held during the Atlanta Graduate Medical Assembly. The speakers included Lemuel Bowden, G. Valter Brindley, Jr., Rainey Williams and Walter Becker. The business meeting was held at 4:45 P.M.
The annual meeting for 1975 occurred March 10-12 at the Fairmont Colony Square Hotel in Atlanta. Once again a “Day of Surgery” was held during the Atlanta Graduate Medical Assembly. The speakers were John Madden, William Remine, Mark Ravitch, Seymour Schwartz and Rupert Turnbull. A business meeting was held at the conclusion of the Scientific Session. A second 1975 meeting was held on November 21-22 in conjunction with the annual MAG Scientific Assembly at the Terrace Garden Inn in Atlanta. According to notes by Franklin Star, Secretary, the program consisted of essays by “selected residents in surgery from Georgia” in competition for a $200.00 prize. This was followed by a panel discussion on “Postgastrectomy Problems” moderated by Dean Warren. The following day, the Fellows of the Georgia Chapter met jointly with the Georgia Gastroenterologic Society for a program on endoscopy.
In 1976, the Council met on March 15th at the Omni Hotel in Atlanta for a breakfast meeting. A second 1976 meeting was held in conjunction with the Medical Association of Georgia Scientific Assembly on November 19-20 also at the Omni Hotel. The Chapter sponsored a presentation of surgical topics by residents from various programs within the state. A $200.00 prize for first place was presented. Following the resident’s presentations at 3:30 P.M. a panel discussion of “Inflammatory Bowel Disease” was presented with members of the panel including William McGarity, William Whitaker, Richard Amerson, John Dickinson, Harold Engler and Frank Wilson. The following morning, the Georgia Chapter met in conjunction with the Georgia Society of Gastroenterologists for a session on “Biliary Tract Disease”.
In 1977, once again, the Fellows of the Georgia Chapter met with the Atlanta Graduate Medical Assembly. On March 15th, a “Day of Surgery” was held and on March 16th a “Day of Trauma” was presented. The second 1977 meeting occurred on November 18th in conjunction with the MAG Scientific Assembly at the Omni International Hotel in Atlanta. The annual resident’s competition for a $200.00 prize consisted of four fifteen-minute presentations by Georgia surgery residents. Unfortunately, the names of the residents and the winner of the prize was not noted. Speakers included Harlan Stone and Arlie Mansberger.
The Georgia Chapter met at the Omni International Hotel in Atlanta March 7-8, 1978 where an excellent program arranged by Chairman John P. Wilson was presented. On March 8th, there was a combined meeting with the Georgia Society of Internal Medicine for discussion of “Preoperative Pulmonary Evaluation”. On November 11-13, 1978, the Georgia Chapter joined the Medical Association of Georgia and the Surgical Section of the Southern Medical Association for an outstanding surgery program at the World Congress Center. However, the most exciting thing that happened to the Georgia Chapter in 1978 was arrangements by Franklin Star for a charter flight to the Clinical Congress in San Francisco. The happy group departed from Atlanta Hartsfield Airport on October 15, 1978 and returned on October 21st. A good time was had by all and the Chapter was indebted to Franklin Star for making these outstanding arrangements.