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J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2008;136:259-266
© 2008 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery

Presidential Address

In celebration of our differences

Elliot T. Gelfand, MD, MS, FRCSC, FACS, FACC, FCCP*

University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Received for publication March 3, 2008; accepted for publication March 8, 2008.

* Address for reprints: Elliot T. Gelfand, MD, MS, FRCSC, FACS, FACC, FCCP, #508-5332 Sayward Hill Crescent, Victoria, BC, Canada V8Y 3H8 (until July 31, 2008); #1002-11826-100 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, Canada T5K 0K3 (after August 1, 2008; etgelfand@shaw.ca).

The first 300 words of the full text of this article appear below.


Figure 1
Dr Gelfand


It is humbling for me to see my name among those of my predecessors in this office. I am grateful to this Association for the honor it has bestowed on me, for the responsibility it has placed on me, and for the unparalleled opportunity it has afforded me to meet, associate with, and work with an array of wonderful surgeons and their families from across Western North America. I am very mindful of the fact that I am only the second Canadian to hold this office, my friend and mentor, John Callaghan being the first.

Dr John C. Callaghan, the ninth president of the Western Thoracic Surgical Association in 1984 and 1985, invited me to come to the University of Alberta in 1974. John was a larger than life, ebullient, gregarious man, a master surgeon who performed Canada's first successful operation on cardiopulmonary bypass. I will always be indebted to him for his unwavering support (Go Figure 1).


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  		Figure 1. Dr John C. Callaghan.

 
My first medical hero was my uncle, Dr Sidney Gelfand. He was the last of the urban general omni-practitioners who did it all: a family office practice combined with a full range of surgical procedures that would be unthinkable today (Go Figure 2).


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  		Figure 2. Dr A. Sidney Gelfand.

 
I will be forever grateful to my family for their love and support and understanding. My wife, Dena, our children, Michael, Laurie, and Susie, and their spouses, Bonny, Brian, and Alejandro, and our 6 grandchildren have been a source of inspiration and joy beyond words.

I would like to share with you a comparison of Canadian and US cardiac care. I am going to ask you to consider Canada in a positive frame of mind. All too often, we Canadians are portrayed in a negative light, whether . . . [Full Text of this Article]






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