AHA: Building a Better Future by Looking Back

ur specialty of anesthesiology has a uniquely American birth among all of the specialties of medicine. The first well-known use of ether for a surgical procedure was performed by Crawford W. Long, M.D., on March 30, 1842. The public demonstration of surgical anesthesia by William T.G. Morton on October 16, 1846, also occurred in the United States, and this event’s significance quickly spread throughout the entire world. Without modern anesthesia, the majority of surgical advances would just not have been possible.

1993 ASA President Peter L. McDermott, M.D., Ph.D., addresses the audience at the AHA Annual Meeting.

Anesthesiology did not, however, spring fully formed from Zeus’ head. There were a series of intellectual and cultural milestones that marked the way in the development of our professional heritage. These important discoveries, people, places and ideas are not only fascinating to contemplate but are key in understanding where we have been in the context of history and where we may be going. Anesthesiologists who are interested in medical history have formed a specialty society, the Anesthesia History Association (AHA), which is celebrating its silver anniversary this year.

Interest in forming such a group was inspired by the First International Symposium on Modern Anesthesia History, held in Rotterdam, Holland, in 1982. Later that year, meeting at the ASA Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, under the leadership of Roderick L. Calverley, M.D., and Selma H. Calmes, M.D., with the support of 47 participants, AHA was founded.

This Society has been continuously active for the past 25 years, fostering the study and teaching of the history of our medical specialty. The organization currently meets twice a year — in the spring and during the ASA Annual Meeting. The spring meeting, sometimes held in conjunction with the American Association for the History of Medicine and at other times as a stand-alone meeting, has combined resident presentations, senior remembrances and original research often with accompanying historical tours. Memorable events have included: a walking tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs in Oak Park, Illinois; Civil War battlefields and redoubts in Nashville, Tennessee; and an upcoming meeting, “The Gilded Age and the Great Industrialists,” to be held next May in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The fall AHA dinner meeting, traditionally on the Monday night of the ASA Annual Meeting, has featured dinner presentations with diverse topics such as “The Wounding, Amputation, and Death of Thomas Jonathan ‘Stonewall’ Jackson: An Anesthetic Insight,” “Ambroise Paré and War and Trauma Surgery in the Renaissance,” “Anesthesia, but no Curare: Anesthesia Practice During the Korean War,” “Clinical Problems of War: An Australian Family Memoir: 1899-1946,” “Ethereal Pursuits: In Search of Anesthesia’s Treasures,” “History of Conjoined Twins,” and “Things I Thought I Knew: A Revisionist View of Anesthesia, History and Professionalism.”

Even more exciting has been the international cross-fertilization with other anesthesia history societies in Great Britain, Germany and Spain, among others. There is even a nascent Society for Anesthesia History with the beginnings of a museum in Beijing, China. This worldwide movement has sponsored seven International Symposia on the History of Anaesthesia in Rotterdam, The Netherlands (1982); London, United Kingdom (1987); Atlanta, Georgia, (1992); Hamburg, Germany (1996); Santiago de Campostela, Spain (2001); Cambridge, United Kingdom (2005); and Crete, Greece (2009).

AHA President Douglas R. Bacon, M.D., M.A. (right) and former Editor-in-Chief of Anesthesiology Michael M. Todd, M.D. Dr. Todd was awarded honorary membership in AHA for his efforts in promoting the history of anesthesia.

The U.S. society and Emory University co-sponsored the Third Symposium, held in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 27-31, 1992, where the sesquicentennial of Dr. Crawford Long’s use of ether vapor to produce surgical anesthesia was celebrated. Collaborative efforts with the History of Anaesthesia Society of Great Britain have resulted in stimulating gatherings such as “Ralph M. Waters, M.D., and Professionalism in Anesthesiology: A Celebration of 75 Years,” and jointly sponsored conferences such as the bicentenary of Sir Humphry Davy’s experiments with nitrous oxide, held in Bristol, England, on May 13-15, 1999. The lively interactions and collaborations formed at these and other similar meetings have been marked by true collegiality and lasting friendships.

Preservation of this scholarship has been entrusted to the Bulletin of Anesthesia History, jointly sponsored by AHA and the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology (WLM). The first newsletter was published in December 1982 and has grown to a peer-reviewed journal published quarterly. The annual Resident Essay Award, begun by Doris K. Cope, M.D., with the support and encouragement of C. Ronald Stephen, M.D., has directed many anesthesia trainees into the study of medical history. A memorial foundation in Dr. Stephen’s honor funds the cash awards to the winning residents. Many of these young scholars have been awarded subsequent WLM fellowships and now hold leadership positions in academia, private practice and in organizations such as AHA and WLM.

The current officers of AHA are:

• Immediate Past President: Doris K. Cope M.D.

• President: Douglas R. Bacon, M.D., M.A.

• Vice-President: William D. Owens, M.D.

• Treasurer: David B. Waisel, M.D.

• Secretary: Mark G. Mandabach, M.D.

• Editor-in-Chief, Bulletin of Anesthesia History:
Doris K. Cope, M.D.

The current AHA Council members are:

• Councilor: N. Martin Giesecke, M.D.

• Councilor: Mark E. Schroeder, M.D.

• Councilor: Bradley K. Smith, M.D.

• Councilor: Sandra L. Kopp, M.D.

• Councilor: David C. Mackey, M.D.

• Councilor: Jason L. McKeown, M.D.

AHA is a formal 501(c) (3) nonprofit corporation registered in the state of Illinois. To join AHA, please contact Deborah Bloomberg, AHA Meeting Coordinator, at (412) 784-5343 or bloombergdj@upmc.edu for details.

For those residents with an investigative bent, AHA awards the annual C. Ronald Stephen Resident Essay Award. Interested residents may submit a 1,000-3,000 word essay related to the history of anesthesia, pain medicine or critical care. The first-, second- and third-place winners receive a monetary prize of $500, $200 and $100, respectively. The finalists are announced at the AHA’s annual dinner meeting and will present their essays at the annual spring meeting, where the winners are selected.

To enter, essays should be sent to:

William Hammonds, M.D., M.P.H.
Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine
Medical College of Georgia
1120 15th St.
Augusta, GA 30912
(706) 721-3871
whammonds@mcg.edu

While looking forward is the essence of scientific thought and development of our specialty, looking backward also provides a context for understanding and the opportunity to pass on our heritage to our successors.

Doris K. Cope, M.D., is Professor and Vice-Chairman of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.