The term “giant” congers up visions of mythical characters endowed with great physical attributes and size. I prefer a more practical definition as that of “a person of exceptional talent or qualities” as in “ a giant among sport stars”, in this tribute to the giants in my life and surgical career.
I was fortunate during my 35 years as a practicing general surgeon in Cleveland Ohio, a medical Mecca, to have been recognized on numerous occasions for various professional accomplishments, for which I am proud. Among them, was my election to Cleveland Magazine’s 7th. Annual Medical Hall of Fame in 2003, for which I was most honored and gratified. The selection committee consisted of my local medical peers, and other members of the medical community.
The most gratifying aspect of the award was the fact that many of my heroes and mentors, as well as prominent Cleveland physicians that have made Cleveland one of the leading medical communities in the world, were past recipients of this award. These prominent physicians included Nobel Prize winners, innovators responsible for the heart-lung machine, blood transfusions, pioneering surgical procedures and many other treatments presently employed by physicians throughout the world . Yes, many of today’s medical miracles originated in Cleveland, Ohio.
What an honor this was indeed. As is customary during the Awards Ceremony, each recipient was expected to deliver a short acceptance speech, which was almost always devoted to thanking those individuals responsible for making the recipient’s career worthy of this award. I worked for hours preparing my speech which, in keeping with tradition, also gave homage to my “heroes” and supporters. I am including the text of my acceptance speech as a tribute to them and as justification for the title of my memoir “On the Shoulders of Giants”:
Considering the accomplishments of my co-inductees, Drs. Toby Cosgrove, Avroy Fanaroff, and James O’Malley as well as past inductees of the Medical Hall of Fame, I’m honored to find myself in such esteemed company . I want to express my humble appreciation to Cleveland Magazine, the Medical Hall of Fame Committee and to all who supported my nomination.
During the remainder of my time, I simply want to thank those individuals who were most influential in my career development and who deserve tho share this honor. I would be remiss if I didn't begin by mentioning my late parents. They brought me to Cleveland from an oppressive Communist Country and, despite modest means provided me with an education, and I dedicate this honor to their memory.
I want to pay a special tribute to the memory of Dr. Robert Zollinger, who in a fortuitous way was responsible for my career choice of surgery.
As the story goes, I spent my third year surgical rotation on the service of this legendary surgeon whose fame and reputation at Ohio State was rivaled only by Woody Hayes, coach of the Buckeyes.
Feared by his residents and worshiped by his students, it was not uncommon for Dr. Zollinger to take special interest in the personal lives and grooming habits of his residents and medical students.
One day, on a fateful Saturday morning rounds, he took me aside and told me that my hair was too long. At first, I thought nothing of it since I planned to get a haircut the following week anyways.
That very next Sunday morning while I was on duty as a surgical student, the phone rang in the nursing station. It was the BIG "Z", as he was known, requesting to talk to lowly Med. Student Schreiber, who would rather have opted for a root canal than answer that phone.
My worst fears were realized when on the other end of the line I heard his sarcastic voice, that I'm sure was overheard by everyone else in the nursing station." "Schreiber. did you get that haircut yet"?" No, Dr. Zollinger, I replied in a trembling stutter. Knowing full-well that all barber shops in Columbus were closed on Sundays, I can still hear that sadistic laugh on the other end of the line, having found utter delight in my dilemma.
That Sunday evening, I quickly learned of my ancestral past as a Barber Surgeon and spent a couple of hours in front of the bathroom mirror, locked away from the curious and prying eyes of my new wife, with clippers and scissors in hand.
I showed up for the dreaded Monday morning rounds, sporting the neatest haircut that money ' couldn't buy'. From then on, and for yet unknown reasons, my fate was sealed....I knew I was destined to become a surgeon, and I have since added barbering skill to my C.V. and, considering malpractice premiums these days, I may have to rely on those skills to make a decent living.
Having decided to go into surgery, I chose to accept a 5 year surgical residency position at University Hospitals of Cleveland under the leadership of Dr. William Holden, Professor and Chairman of Surgery for over a quarter of a century. Dr. Holden is credited with creating the model for graduate surgical education in the United States and pioneered the importance of nutrition in surgical patients. His wisdom, leadership and Socratic Method of teaching had a pronounced influence not only me but on other prominent surgeons in Cleveland and throughout the country as well.
During surgical residency, my rotations at Metropolitan General Hospital were by far the most rewarding. After residency, I gladly accepted a Full-Time Faculty position at Metro under the able leadership of Dr. Walter Pories, now an eminent leader in American Surgery and a pioneer in the field of Bariatric Surgery.
It was also at Metro. where I had the privilege of working with colleagues who were not only distinguished clinicians in their own specialties, but also excellent role models and lasting personal friends. Not surprisingly, most are also current members of the Medical Hall of Fame.
Thank you, Dr. Brown Dobyns for teaching me the Halstedian surgical principles which are so rarely practiced today. To this day, Dr. Dobyns believes that the electo-cautery is an instrument of the devil and I'm ashamed to admit to you that I not only covet but have sinned many times with this instrument.
Thank you Dr. Eddy Mansour for teaching me to respect the lives of my patients, no matter what their prognosis may be. I spent a year with Dr. Mansour as Clinical Research Fellow for the American Cancer Society.
Thank you Dr. Richard Fratianne, for teaching me to look deep below the burn wound, to find the dignity and strength of the human spirit wanting to stay alive.
Thank you Dr. Robert White for your motivational personal and professional life, that influenced not only my life and career, but also that of my oldest daughter who chose to become a neurosurgeon.
Thank you Dr. John Marshall for becoming my best friend and fishing buddy. Regardless of what John may tell you , I am still a better fisherman.
It was at Metro. where Dr. Walter Pories first encouraged me to apply my skills in gastrointestinal surgery to make a real difference in the lives of people suffering from the epidemic disease of Morbid Obesity. Most importantly he taught me to have empathy and compassion for these patients. He urged me look beyond their outward appearance, and to find the lonely person within, desperately pleading for help, but often failing to receive it from an un-caring society and medical profession.
After Dr. Pories left Cleveland and following years of promoting the principles that he taught me, I am proud and grateful for the validation of this field of surgery in recent years in Cleveland and worldwide. Almost every major medical center in Cleveland now boasts of a bariatric surgery program, and hospitals throughout the country are scrambling to accommodate the growing need for bariatric surgery.
Life after Metro., was no less important to my career and personal life. My subsequent 15 years as surgical residency program director at two Cleveland area teaching hospitals, was one of the most rewarding experiences of my 30 year career.
Thank you Jerrie White for being the best secretary a person could ever hope for during those 15 years we worked together. Thank you to my former residents, who often taught me more about life than I taught them about surgery, and thank you to all my Patients for entrusting me with their lives.
Thank you Jeff Jenney, our CEO, who first recognized and supported the concept of a Center of Excellence in Bariatric Surgery and to all Caregivers and Medical Colleagues at St. Luke's and St. Vincent Charity Hospital especially members of the Department of Anesthesiology who play such important roles in the care of surgical patients.
Thank you to the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine for allowing me to contribute to your mission of providing compassionate and ethical patient care, a tradition which you upheld in Cleveland for the past 140 years.
Thank you to Karen Schulz, R.N. and her entire staff at the Cleveland Center for Bariatric Surgery. She believed in me and our mission. She has been MY personal choice for Nurse of the Year for the past 16 years.
I would like to conclude by thanking the one person, who in the words of my late father, is "the most important person" in my life, my wife Helen.
She has raised my four children, Katrina, Ingrid, Richard and Elizabeth almost single handedly during my many absences from home. She has been my shining beacon in the dark. Ever present, ever supportive, non-judgemental and ever loving. She has made my homecomings every night the most enjoyable part of my day for the past 36 years and I love her for it.
I remain humbled to this day as I embark on my fifth year of retirement. I recall with great pride the "giants and heroes" of my life and career. Their legacy and teachings endure as I continue my passion of healing through surgery, preparing to embark on my second Medical Mission to South America. Little do the native and impoverished people of Colombia know, tat the free care they receive from the "American Doctors and Nurses" have deep roots in a far-away city, Cleveland Ohio.
