Dr. Edmond Eger II passes away

[Urzuz]

RIP. A giant in our field...

Dr. Edmond Eger II, 86, Dies; Found Way to Make Anesthesia Safer

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[deleted59964]

R. I. P. Dr Eger.


We are like dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they, but because they raise us up, and by their great stature add to ours

 

[deleted171991]

R. I. P. Dr Eger.


We are like dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they, but because they raise us up, and by their great stature add to ours

And then there are CRNAs ****ting sitting on our shoulders.

 

[Laryngophed]

R. I. P. Dr Eger.


We are like dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they, but because they raise us up, and by their great stature add to ours

Goodness, I find myself thinking this daily. I'm but a peon playing with the instruments of the previous masters.

 

[Gern Blansten]

He was a super nice guy. I had the privilege of meeting him a couple of times. He made me feel as though my opinion mattered, even though I was just a resident at the time. Not too often we get to exchange ideas with a legend.

 

[Consigliere]

Am I the only one who's never heard of this guy?

 

[pgg]

Am I the only one who's never heard of this guy?

No.

But his bio was interesting.

Hard to believe it was less than a lifetime ago that anesthesia was cyclopropane and precordial stethoscopes and how cyanotic the patient looked. Now it’s so safe and easy that ... well you know the rest.

 

[Urzuz]

Just look at the guy's publication list: Error encountered - PubMed - NCBI

Looking at the publications he made in the 50's and 60's...these are the things that we take for granted as common knowledge in anesthesiology today, that every anesthesiologist knows. Entire chapters are written on this stuff today, yet these were landmark papers, and completely novel research topics at the time.

ANAESTHETIC SOLUBILITY IN BLOOD AND TISSUES: VALUES AND SIGNIFICANCE.

RESPIRATORY AND CIRCULATORY FACTORS IN UPTAKE AND DISTRIBUTION OF VOLATILE ANAESTHETIC AGENTS.

And of course,

Minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration: a standard of anesthetic potency.

I'm just completely humbled reading about his history. I think I'm a badass for being able to start an arterial line quickly, and then I look at what this guy did. Completely changed the face of how anesthesiology, surgery, and medicine are practiced.

 

[Urzuz]

Am I the only one who's never heard of this guy?

You may not know him by name, but you know the concepts that he did research on and literally invented (see above...he is the one who described and coined the term "minimum alveolar concentration").

 

[Planktonmd]

And then there are CRNAs ****ting sitting on our shoulders.

 

[Psai]

Am I the only one who's never heard of this guy?

This guy pretty much invented most of the major ideas in anesthesia singlehandedly

 

[nimbus]

Just look at the guy's publication list: Error encountered - PubMed - NCBI

Looking at the publications he made in the 50's and 60's...these are the things that we take for granted as common knowledge in anesthesiology today, that every anesthesiologist knows. Entire chapters are written on this stuff today, yet these were landmark papers, and completely novel research topics at the time.

ANAESTHETIC SOLUBILITY IN BLOOD AND TISSUES: VALUES AND SIGNIFICANCE.

RESPIRATORY AND CIRCULATORY FACTORS IN UPTAKE AND DISTRIBUTION OF VOLATILE ANAESTHETIC AGENTS.

And of course,

Minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration: a standard of anesthetic potency.

I'm just completely humbled reading about his history. I think I'm a badass for being able to start an arterial line quickly, and then I look at what this guy did. Completely changed the face of how anesthesiology, surgery, and medicine are practiced.

Not only was he a badass himself but he mentored and inspired multiple badasses. His influence is huge. As the OP said, a giant.

 

[fakin' the funk]

If there is a silver lining to the passing of a "giant of the field," and this has nothing to do with Dr. Eger himself, it's that it can leave a void that innovators can step into. There is an idea that the longtime presence of said giants can actually slow / hamper progress and innovation. Or, at least that's an idea.

Does Science Advance One Funeral at a Time?

 

[deleted171991]

Not only was he a badass himself but he mentored and inspired multiple badasses. His influence is huge. As the OP said, a giant.

This thread was the first time I heard about him. Just food for thought for those who work their butts off in cacademia.