Surgical Limits

by McKellar, Shelley

• ISBN13: 9780802037398
• ISBN10: 0802037399
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-05-01
• Publisher: Univ of Toronto Pr

Summary

Shelley McKellar's Surgical Limitschronicles the life of one of Canada's most prominent and controversial surgeons, Gordon Murray (1894-1976). McKellar examines candidly and critically the career successes and failures of Gordon Murray, discussing Murray's surgical ingenuity and skill, and how he saved numerous lives through his advances in heart and vascular surgery, his experimental cancer treatment, and his development of a kidney dialysis machine. She also chronicles the 1967 spinal cord controversy, in which he claimed to have reversed paralysis, and the resulting theatrics surrounding the apparent recovery from paralysis of Bertrand Proulx. Murray's determination to challenge the limits of surgery and medicine, McKellar argues, produced noteworthy clinical accomplishments yet also ultimately led to the fall of his career through hubris, poor judgement and his perception of persecution from his colleagues. McKellar skilfully blends a discussion of Murray's personal and professional life with a cogent analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of his research. At the same time, the biography extends beyond the individual surgeon to larger issues relating to the limits of surgery, the modern medical research endeavour, the surgical character and culture, and the rising power and authority of the surgeon. By presenting the controversial figure of Gordon Murray within the context of the development of Canadian medicine and surgical practices, McKellar's exceptional biography of an extraordinary surgeon makes a major contribution to the history of modern surgery.

Author Biography

Shelley McKellar is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of History at McMaster University and a Research Fellow in the History of Health and Medicine Unit at McMaster University.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction: A Surgeon's Life	3	(5)
Rural Beginnings: The Formation of a Surgeon	8	(21)
Toronto Appointment: Heparin and Vascular Surgery	29	(23)
Delivering Miracles: Heart Surgery and an Artificial Kidney Machine	52	(24)
A Private Laboratory, a Second Artificial Kidney, and New Heart Operations	76	(29)
A Cure for Cancer? Sera, Vaccines, and the Theory of Immunity	105	(28)
Making Paraplegics Walk Again: The Spinal Cord Controversy	133	(28)
Time for Rest: Career Reflections	161	(14)
Conclusion: Surgical Limits	175	(6)
Appendix: Dr Gordon Murray's Medical Writing	181	(4)
Notes	185	(66)
A Note on Sources	251	(4)
Index	255