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"Father
of American Surgery"
(1768
- 1837)
 Known as the "Father of American Surgery," Dr. Phillip
Syng Physick was on the medical staff of Pennsylvania Hospital
from 1794 until 1816. After studying medicine in England with
Dr. John Hunter, he received his medical degree in Edinburgh
and returned to Philadelphia in 1792. Upon his return, he participated
in the treatments given during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793,
was appointed Surgeon Extraordinary to Philadelphia's Almshouse
Infirmary and went on to become a professor of both surgery and
anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania.
While on staff at the Pennsylvania Hospital, Dr. Physick accumulated
many noteworthy medical accomplishments, including: innovatively
treating dislocations and fractures; being the first to practice
capillary puncture of the head for hydrocephalus; inventing the
tonsil guillotine and needle forceps; and being the first to
use animal ligatures in surgery. Two of his more famous operations
occurred on James Hayes in 1805 and 1806, during which he removed
two large parotid gland tumors from Hayes' cheek (the larger,
seven-pound tumor was preserved, and is still part of the Historic
Collections). Physick also operated on Chief Justice John Marshall
in 1831, successfully treating the famous jurist for a kidney
stone.
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