Teaching Surgeons’ Hands to Heal

A Urological Surgical Chairman’S Chronicle: the History of the Department of Urologic Surgery, University of Minnesota 1969 – 1993

Nineteen sixty nine to nineteen ninety three: what a time of change, development and innovation in Medicine. Often not appreciated are the many advances coming directly or indirectly from the University of Minnesota Medical School, the main setting for Teaching Surgeons Hands to Heal by Dr Elwin Fraley MD. Dr Christiaan Barnard had recently performed the first human heart transplant in South Africa, yet the basis for this magnificent achievement was the training and experience he had in Minnesota, under the great open-heart surgery pioneer Dr Walt Lillehei. This was the background that the young, relatively inexperienced Dr Fraley had, when given the opportunity to develop a world class Department of Urologic Surgery in 1969. With his intense personal belief as a Builder of People Dr Fraley accepted the challenge with drive, determination and his own inimitable energy and wit overcoming numerous difficulties along the way. Set in an academic research and training hospital the chronicle details not only the development of the training program, but rather how it produced so many luminaries in the field, who then followed his tradition of building leaders and innovators. This book highlights the importance of academic centers to the future of American and world medicine, as well as mankind in general. Indeed, under Dr Fraley, there was a paradigm shift from enormous painful surgical incisions to key-hole surgery, the field of Endourology (a term coined by Dr Fraley). Thus Endourology is now an integral part of virtually all major urological meetings around the world.