22 Facts About Lewis Sayre

Lewis Albert Sayre was a leading American orthopedic surgeon of the 19th century.

Lewis Sayre performed the first operation to cure hip-joint ankylosis, introduced the method of suspending the patient followed by wrapping the body to correct spine distortions, and popularized circumcision in the United States.

Lewis Sayre was born in Bottle Hill, in Morris County, New Jersey in a prosperous farmer family.

Lewis Sayre's father died when Lewis was only 10, and the boy was raised by his uncle, a banker in Lexington, Kentucky.

Lewis Sayre graduated from the Transylvania University in Lexington in 1839 and then studied medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Lewis Sayre became consulting surgeon at the latter institution in 1873.

Lewis Sayre specialized in injuries and defects in bones and joints.

Lewis Sayre later became professor of clinical surgery, and held both chairs until 1898, when the college merged with the New York University and he was made emeritus professor of orthopedic and clinical surgery of the consolidated institution.

Lewis Sayre was among the founders of the New York Academy of Medicine, the American Medical Association, and the New York Pathological Society.

Lewis Sayre was elected vice-president of the American Medical Association in 1866, and its president in 1880.

In parallel, between 1860 and 1866, Lewis Sayre acted as health officer for New York City, and in that capacity was well respected by the community.

Lewis Sayre understood the mechanisms by which cholera was brought by sailors from incoming ships and stopped it spreading to the city by implementing quarantine.

Lewis Sayre's methods were not more widely accepted and for a long time New York was the only harbor to enforce quarantine regulations.

In 1854, Lewis Sayre performed his first operation for the cure of hip ankylosis, which involved removal of part of the femur to facilitate movements of the hindered joint.

Lewis Sayre thought the procedure ameliorated such problems based on the then prominent "reflex neurosis" theory of disease, with the understanding that a tight foreskin inflamed the nerves and caused systemic problems.

Dr Lewis Sayre was a voluminous writer, chiefly on topics related to surgery.

Lewis Sayre invented many instruments for use in operations and for the relief of deformities.

Lewis Sayre was consulting surgeon to St Elizabeth's Hospital, the Northwestern Dispensary, and the Home for the Incurables in New York.

Lewis Sayre was an honorary member of leading American and European societies.

The hip-joint operation introduced by Lewis Sayre proved to be technically challenging.

In 1849, Lewis Sayre married Eliza Ann Hall, a painter from a family of artists.

Reginald Hall Lewis Sayre became a prominent orthopedic surgeon and Olympic sport shooter.