Background

Graham was born on March 19, 1883, in Chicago, Illinois, the son of David Wilson Graham, a surgeon and a charter member of the Presbyterian Hospital, and Ida Anspach Barned.

Education

Following education in public schools and the Lewis Institute of Chicago, Graham attended Princeton from 1900 to 1904, and was awarded the B. A. in the latter year. Upon graduation he returned to Chicago, took a year of preclinical training at the University of Chicago, and entered the affiliated Rush Medical College, from which he received the M. D. in 1907.

Career

Over the protestations of Arthur Dean Bevan, his chief at the Presbyterian Hospital during his internship, Graham withdrew from surgery and from 1908 to 1914 conducted research in pathology and chemistry. While working at the Otho S. A. Sprague Memorial Institute for Medical Research, he met Rollin T. Woodyatt, who subsequently had an important influence on his career. Woodyatt had been a pupil of Friedrich Müller in Munich, and had returned to Chicago a confirmed disciple of scientific medicine. In 1915 Graham began the private practice of surgery in Mason City, Iowa, where he gained experience in major operative technique and was exposed to the practice of fee-splitting, in which, unknown to the patient, the referring physician received a rebate from the surgeon. He began a campaign against the practice as unethical, and consequently found himself alienated from many of his professional associates. In later years he fought fee-splitting, "ghost" surgery, and similar practices on a national level. In 1917 Graham entered military service and rose to the rank of captain in the United States Army Medical Corps. His major work during World War I was with the Empyema Commission in 1918-1919. The principles elaborated by Graham and his colleagues laid the foundation for the future development of thoracic surgery. In 1919 he was appointed professor and chairman of the department of surgery at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. As the first full-time salaried professor of surgery at that institution, he proceeded to develop one of the major teaching programs in general and in thoracic surgery in the United States. He held this post until his retirement in 1951. Graham was the first surgeon to remove an entire lung successfully for carcinoma. This achievement (1933), together with his studies on the Empyema Commission and his development of the technique of cholecystography with Warren H. Cole and Glover H. Copher (1924), were the major sources of his recognition. Less well-known are his contributions as an unyielding opponent of surgical mediocrity. In the early 1930's, Graham led a group of university surgeons in criticizing the admisssion requirements and internal governance of the American College of Surgeons, which they felt was not fulfilling its potential for the improvement of surgical practice. He was the driving force responsible for the founding, in 1937, of the American Board of Surgery, an independent examining body for the certification of surgeons. Graham occupied positions of authority on the American Board of Surgery, the American College of Surgeons, the American Surgical Association, and the International Society of Surgery. In each organization he used the position to demand excellence in surgical training and practice. Forceful and outspoken, he never minced words or sidestepped an issue if he felt action was needed. He battled hard for principles, including the right of all physicians - regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background - to acquire the best training, appropriate certification, and membership in national medical organizations. Graham's strengths as a teacher, organizer, and forceful advocate overshadowed his contributions as an operating surgeon. He became the elder statesman of his profession and was consulted on almost every major issue in surgery. He was constantly involved with governmental committees, national boards, and commissions. From 1906 until his death, Graham was a frequent contributor to the literature of general and thoracic surgery. Among his important monographs are Some Fundamental Considerations in the Treatment of Empyema Thoracis (1925) and Diseases of the Gall-Bladder and Bile Ducts (1928), written with J. J. Singer and H. C. Ballon. He was editor of the Journal of Thoracic Surgery from 1931 to 1957 and served on the editorial boards of Archives of Surgery and Annals of Surgery While editor of the Year Book of General Surgery from 1926 to 1957, he left a permanent record of both his broad surgical knowledge and his outspoken personality in the pithy comments that followed the abstracts. In his later years Graham devoted much time to studying the relationship between smoking and carcinoma of the lung. Once a heavy smoker, he modified his habit when he was well along in his studies. Ironically, he succumbed to the disease for which he was the first to operate successfully. Graham died in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 4, 1957.

Achievements

• Graham was the first surgeon to remove an entire lung successfully for carcinoma.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Some Fundamental Considerations in the Treatment of Empyema Thoracis
  • Surgical diseases of the chest
  • Diseases of the gall bladder and bile ducts,

Membership

Graham occupied positions of authority on the American Board of Surgery, the American College of Surgeons, the American Surgical Association, and the International Society of Surgery. In 1941 he was the third surgeon to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Connections

On January 29, 1916, Graham married Helen Tredway, a graduate student in chemistry at the University of Chicago, who subsequently achieved a distinguished career as a pharmacologist. They had two sons.

Father:

David Wilson Graham

Mother:

Ida Anspach Barned

Spouse:

Helen Tredway

References

• Evarts A. Graham: The Life, Lives, and Times of the Surgical Spirit of St. Louis
• Evarts Ambrose Graham. March 19, 1883, Chicago, Illinois - March 4, 1957, St. Louis, Missouri