Search FAQ Contact U
Surgical Student Interest Group (SSIG): Events
 

 
   
     

 
Surgical History Field Trip Series
- Harvard MGH & Ether Dome

Every spring, the USC Department of Surgery sponsors a trip to a location of significance in surgical history. Our chairman, Dr. Tom DeMeester, along with a few members of the surgical faculty join a small group of 4th year students in making history come alive. The 2005 trip was to Harvard's Massachussetts General Hospital in Boston (see pictures below).

The trip was filled with philosophical discussions over traditional boston seafood dinners, tours of the great halls where surgeons past have sat and made decisions, and time interacting with the students and faculty of Harvard. We got to spend a lot of time with our chairman Dr. DeMeester outside of the hospital, and are so appreciative of his continuing support of this great tradition at USC.

Havard's MGH hospital was the site of the first public demonstration of ether in 1846.
It was also the site of the very first kidney transplant done in the USA
and the site of the first ICU, after a great fire at one of the local dance clubs.
There was so much history here, and we thoroughly enjoyed walking the halls.

Pictures:

Plaques describing the events that occured inside the Ether Dome:

Painting of first procedure publicly demonstrated under anesthesia:
The painting hangs in the etherdome and was modeled by members of the Harvard faculty (including Harvard Surgery Chairman Dr. Warshaw seen 5th from the left
in the first row of onlookers behind the wall)



Students and faculty at the Etherdome in Massachussetts General Hospital.
Back Row (R-L): Irene Bakman, Kyle Cologne, MGH tour guide, Vince Nguyen, Dr. Tom DeMeester (chairman), Michelle Fleurat, Jennifer Hearne. Front Row (R-L): John Tanner, Allison Speer, Formosa Chen, Dr. Peter Crookes (bariatric surgery and surgical historian) .

 

Students and faculty stand in front of painting depicting first public demonstration of anesthesia in 1846 at MGH.
L->R: Vince Nguyen, Allison Speer, John Tanner, Dr. Tom DeMeester, MGH tour guide, Kyle Cologne, Formosa Chen, Dr. Peter Crookes, Michelle Fleurat, Irene Bakman.

 


Students Kyle Cologne and Formosa Chen walk while USC Department of Surgery
Chairman Dr. DeMeester explains some history.



Students and Faculty at the Old Harvard Club:
from L-R: Vince Nguyen, Harvard faculty Dr. George Velmahos, Michelle Fleurat, John Kerry's daughter and Harvard medical student, Jennifer Hearne, harvard student, Harvard Chairman Dr. Andrew Warshaw, harvard student, USC Chairman Dr. Tom DeMeester, Allison Speer, Dr. Peter Crookes, Kyle Cologne, Formosa Chen, Irene Bakman, John Tanner.

 
 
The University of Southern California does not screen or control the content on this website and thus does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of such content. All content on this website is provided by and is the sole responsibility of the person from which such content originated, and such content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the University administration or the Board of Trustees
The University of Southern California does not screen or control the content on this website and thus does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of such content. All content on this website is provided by and is the sole responsibility of the person from which such content originated, and such content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the University administration or the Board of Trustees