Lloyd Nyhus was the first Warren Cole professor and Head of Surgery at the University of Illinois in Chicago. During his 22 years as the head of the department he was known for his kind and calm disposition and his innate sense of humour. He was a mentor and role model to a generation of outstanding surgeons and staff of other departments like myself.
He was born in 1923 in Mount Vernon, Washington and got his medical degree in 1947 from the University of Alabama College of Medicine. His surgical training was in Seattle, under the tutelage of Henry Harkins. He was recruited to the University of Illinois department of surgery in 1967.
Nyhus, became well known for the peptic ulcer surgery and together with Harkins published their landmark textbook Surgery of the Stomach. Nyhus published more than 370 scientific papers and his other textbooks, Mastery of Surgery and Hernia will continue to educate and influence surgeons worldwide.
He served as chairman of the American Board of Surgery, the International Society of Surgery, the Chicago Surgical Society, the Society of University Surgeons, and the Warren H Cole Society.
Oscar Sugar received his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Chicago in 1940 and his Doctor of Medicine from the George Washington School of Medicine in 1942. He served as captain Medical Corps, United States Air Force from 1943 to 1946.
Dr. Sugar was the head of the Univ of Illinois department of Neurosurgery and he was one of Chicago's pioneers in the field of Neurosurgery. His long career as a neurosurgeon included several much publicized cases including one separating Siamese twins joined at the head. Known for his caring and compassionate manner with patients, he felt "the biggest problem in medicine is the inability or unwillingness or incapacity of some physicians to take the time to explain the care needed" in terms the patient could understand.
Thiose of us who attended his Wednesday noon conferences when neurosurgeons from around town asked his advice remember how nice he was to all. When I told him and he realized that the performance of angiograms with catheters was better for the patients instead of done with a needle stick, he sent his patients to me.
Dr. Sugar always had a warm smile and all who knew him remember him as a gentle person with a kind heart.
Olga Jonasson was born in Peoria, Illinois in 1934. She was a transplant surgeon and she performed the first kidney transplant in the State of Illinois. Her undergraduate studies were at Northwestern University. She received had Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Illinois and completed her surgical residency in the same institution. In 1965, she was certified by the American Board of Surgery, the 37th woman to be certified. In 1958, she developed the department of transplantation at UIC and she performed the first kidney transplant in the State of Illinois in 1969. In 1977, Jonasson was named the chief of surgery at Cook County Hospital. This made her the first woman to be appointed chief of surgery of a major hospital. In 1987, she left CCH when she was named Robert M. Zollinger Professor of Surgery at the Ohio State University. I was fortunate that I worked at UIC and with Dr. Jonasson because she asked me to perform a splenic embolization in one of her kidney transplant patients who had developed thrombocytopenia. Having not done such a procedure I checked the available literature and found that all patients who had their spleen embolized had died. I discussed with Olga the grave results of splenic embolizations and I told her also that I had thought the correct approach was doing a partial splenic embolization instead which I did and it worked. I did several more successful partial splenic embolizatios that were the beginning of my academic career.
Tapas K. Das Gupta, world-renown surgeon, researcher, and mentor was defined by his love of science. He was one of the world's leading of authorities on the treatment of melanomas and sarcomas.
Dr. Das Gupta was born in 1932 in New Delhi, India. He went to College at the age of fourteen and admitted to medical school at the age of sixteen. He completed his medical training in 1953 and passed all exams with the highest distinction. However, he had grown frustrated by the colonial narrow-mindedness of the medical establishment in India and he decided to go to the US to further his medical career. Starting at Mount Sinai hospital in Chicago, Dr. Das Guptas' hard work , dedication, and intelligence propelled him through the ranks of academia. He went as a faculty at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. In 1967, he was named the head of Surgical Oncology at the University of Illinois. It was in that institution that Dr. Das Gupta grew to an international renown physician. He authored hunderds of papers, mentored dozens of fellows, and saved thousands of lives. He was a champion of women's rights and helped many female surgeons advance their careers despite the "old boys" network in surgery. I was very fond of Dr. Das Gupta and asked his advice on medical issues as well when I was applying for chairmanships. I am indebted to him for reciprocating and being always a good friend and advisor.
I mourn the passing of all four great doctors who were my mentors but I celebrate their contributions.
This post was authored by D G Spigos, MD, PhD, former Professor at the University of Illinois and Chairman of Radiology at Cook County Hospital and the Ohio State University Department of Radiology.
This post is dedicated to Dr. Mimis Cohen who was born in Athens, Greece in 1947 and graduated from the University of Athens in 1970. We knew each other during our time in medical school as I was the president of the student body. We later met again when we served in the Navy. When he completed his tour of duty in the Navy he moved to the US and did his residency in Surgery at UIC until 1973. He then did Head and Neck plastic surgery at Roswell Park Memorial Hospital. He worked at CCH between 1986 to 1989. In 1989 he became the chief of Plastic Surgery at CCH and at UIC and a tenured Professor. UIC created a professorship in his name in 2024. Dr. Cohen published many papers in referred journals and authored books on Plastic Surgery. Mimis remained active after his retirement organizing symposia about the contributions of "Romaniotes Jews" in the cultural life and prosperity of Greece from antiquity till today ie for two millennia. The Academy of Athens elected his a corresponding member a distinction offered to few for his contributions in the fields of science and culture. He currently lives in Chicago and frequently travels to other countries teaching young physicians in the art and science of Plastic Surgery. I was fortunate to having met him and for being a life-long friend of his.
