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J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2006;131:1390-1391
© 2006 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery

Historical Perspective

Historical perspectives of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery: Edward J. O'Brien (1887-1959)

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich.

Received for publication February 10, 2006; accepted for publication February 20, 2006.

^_* Address for reprints: Larry W. Stephenson, MD, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Wayne State University, 3990 John R, 4933 Hudson, Detroit, MI 48201 (Email: lstephen@dmc.org).

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

John Alexander wrote on behalf of his friend, Edward J. (Pat) O'Brien,

I have known Dr. O'Brien and carefully followed his work in thoracic surgery for more than ten years. Personally, he is a rather astonishingly outspoken person, fighting fiercely for principles he believes right. In these fights, he has created some enmities and won much admiration. Although I have often disagreed with his opinions and his methods of promulgating them, I am one of his great admirers. His enthusiastic efforts to popularize collapse therapy in pulmonary tuberculosis have been highly successful and, in Detroit, have probably been chiefly responsible for that city's present anti-tuberculosis campaign which is probably the most intense and intelligent that has ever been carried out anywhere. As a thoracic surgeon, Dr. O'Brien is outstandingly able and competent and he has written and spoken much that is of real value.

O'Brien admittedly has so little tact that he creates a good many antagonisms and enmities, some of which are due to his rather pugnacious personality and some of which are due to his uncompromising fight for the surgical principles in which he believes. He has devoted the last ten years or more of his life wholeheartedly to his work in thoracic surgery, and taken as a whole, this work has had . . . [Full Text of this Article]