Education
University of Chicago.
University of Chicago.
Being a pioneer in the surgical restoration of otherwise useless limbs, he was instrumental in helping United States. Senator Bob Dole. When Dole returned from World World War II with injuries that had left his right arm useless and about to be amputated, Kelikian fixed the shattered shoulder and allowed Dole to regain some use of his arm. Kelikian was an Armenian orthopedic surgeon and native of Hadjin in the Ottoman Empire.
After emigrating to the United States in 1920, Kelikian worked as a waiter at the University of Chicago, and then obtained a scholarship to train there and at Rush Medical College, as he turned out to be bright and talented.
He performed his internship at Cook County Hospital, and in 1929 became an assistant to Philip Kreuscher, who had been in practice with the bone specialist John B. Murphy. During World World War II, Kelikian served as chief orthopedic surgeon and lieutenant colonel at the 297th General Hospital.
In total, Kelikian performed seven operations between 1947 and 1953 to restore the use of Dole"s arm by transplanting leg bone and muscle to the right shoulder and hand. Kelikian is also credited with saving the left arm of a young Victor A. Lundy, who would later become a famous architect in the 1950s and 1960s.
When Kelikian returned to Chicago, he joined the staff of Wesley Hospital and Northwestern Medical School.
Kelikian later became an emeritus associate professor of orthopedic surgery, performing ten operations a week when he was 80. Kelikian wrote three monographs on hand, ankle, and foot surgery, as well as a book on Armenian poetry. He also specialized in congenital deformities, particularly gigantism.
He never charged Armenians for treatment.
He died on Sunday July 24, 1983 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. He was 84. While he was working for the United States Army, his services were recognized by President Harry Truman, who gave him a citation and a medal.