Overview

In this first comprehensive biography of Dr. Arthur Edward Spohn, authors Jane Clements Monday, Frances Brannen Vick, and Charles W. Monday Jr., MD, illuminate the remarkable nineteenth-century story of a trailblazing physician who helped to modernize the practice of medicine in Texas. Arthur Spohn was unusually innovative for the time and exceptionally dedicated to improving medical care. Among his many surgical innovations was the development of a specialized tourniquet for “bloodless operations” that was later adopted as a field instrument by militaries throughout the world. To this day, he holds the world record for the removal of the largest tumor—328 pounds—from a patient who fully recovered. Recognizing the need for modern medical care in South Texas, Spohn, with the help of Alice King, raised funds to open the first hospital in Corpus Christi. Today, his name and institutional legacy live on in the region through the Christus Spohn Health System, the largest hospital system in South Texas. This biography of a medical pioneer recreates for readers the medical, regional, and family worlds in which Spohn moved, making it an important contribution not only to the history of South Texas but also to the history of modern medicine.

Full Product Details

9781623496906

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Reviews

This was a book we needed. It fills a large gap in the historical record. The author's meticulous research and immersion in the life and times of Dr. Arthur Spohn give us a fascinating biography of a great doctor on the frontiers of medicine in 19th Century South Texas. Those who spend a little time with this important book will find nothing dull in its pages. --Murphy Givens, coauthor, Corpus Christi: A History --Murphy Givens This book could be housed in all sections of a book store, i.e., biography, history, biology, infectious disease, economics, Texas development, business, politics, and personal interests. Although it was written to detail the life of a little-known Texas surgeon, Arthur E. Spohn MD, readers will find recurrent themes of interest throughout this book. -- Dr. Kenneth L Mattox MD, past President of the America Association for the Surgery of Trauma and Secretary-treasurer of the Michael E. DeBakey International Surgical Society, Distinguished Service Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Surgery-Cardio/Thoracic Surgery, and Chief of Staff and Surgeon-in-Chief at Ben Taub Hospital. (From the Introduction) --Dr. Kenneth Mattox Dr. Arthur Spohn: Surgeon, Inventor, and Texas Medical Pioneer . . . creates for the reader the medical, regional and family worlds in which Spohn moved. . . . the development of South Texas, and the lives of the Kenedy and King families. . . . a valuable, laudable look at Spohn and his world. --Paula Mitchell Marks, Professor Emerita of American Studies at St. Edward's University; past board of Western Writers of America, the Texas Institute of Letters, past president of Texas State Historical Association.--Paula Mitchell Marks . . . a most fitting tribute to a remarkable physician and surgeon. It will also be an important addition to the history of South Texas. The reprinting of Dr. Spohn's articles are wonderful. --Dr. Courtney M. Townsend Jr., MD, FACS, President, American College of Surgeons, Robertson-Poth Distinguished Chair in General Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, Editor-in-Chief of Sabiston Textbook for Surgery: The Biological Basis of Modern Surgical Practice.--Dr. Courtney M. Townsend, Jr. . . . a transnational story of medicine, medical practices and patient care. Through Spohn's travels and study throughout the U.S., Europe and Latin America, he developed and brought the most advanced care and cures to South Texas. . . . foster[ing] an exchange of ideas across borders --Cecilia Venable, author of Historic Photos of Corpus Christi.--Cecilia Venable

. . . a most fitting tribute to a remarkable physician and surgeon. It will also be an important addition to the history of South Texas. The reprinting of Dr. Spohn's articles are wonderful. --Dr. Courtney M. Townsend Jr., MD, FACS, President, American College of Surgeons, Robertson-Poth Distinguished Chair in General Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, Editor-in-Chief of Sabiston Textbook for Surgery: The Biological Basis of Modern Surgical Practice.--Dr. Courtney M. Townsend, Jr. This book could be housed in all sections of a book store, i.e., biography, history, biology, infectious disease, economics, Texas development, business, politics, and personal interests. Although it was written to detail the life of a little-known Texas surgeon, Arthur E. Spohn MD, readers will find recurrent themes of interest throughout this book. -- Dr. Kenneth L Mattox MD, past President of the America Association for the Surgery of Trauma and Secretary-treasurer of the Michael E. DeBakey International Surgical Society, Distinguished Service Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Surgery-Cardio/Thoracic Surgery, and Chief of Staff and Surgeon-in-Chief at Ben Taub Hospital. (From the Introduction) --Dr. Kenneth Mattox . . . a transnational story of medicine, medical practices and patient care. Through Spohn's travels and study throughout the U.S., Europe and Latin America, he developed and brought the most advanced care and cures to South Texas. . . . foster[ing] an exchange of ideas across borders --Cecilia Venable, author of Historic Photos of Corpus Christi.--Cecilia Venable Dr. Arthur Spohn: Surgeon, Inventor, and Texas Medical Pioneer . . . creates for the reader the medical, regional and family worlds in which Spohn moved. . . . the development of South Texas, and the lives of the Kenedy and King families. . . . a valuable, laudable look at Spohn and his world. --Paula Mitchell Marks, Professor Emerita of American Studies at St. Edward's University; past board of Western Writers of America, the Texas Institute of Letters, past president of Texas State Historical Association.--Paula Mitchell Marks

This is much more than a biography of Dr. Spohn and his medical triumphs. It is a book about life in South Texas from 1865 to the 1920s and beyond. Dr. Arthur Edward Spohn was part of that history and his contributions to medicine and the development of South Texas have guaranteed his legacy for years to come. This book is the proof. --Texana Reads--Texana Reads . . . a most fitting tribute to a remarkable physician and surgeon. It will also be an important addition to the history of South Texas. The reprinting of Dr. Spohn's articles are wonderful. --Dr. Courtney M. Townsend Jr., MD, FACS, President, American College of Surgeons, Robertson-Poth Distinguished Chair in General Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, Editor-in-Chief of Sabiston Textbook for Surgery: The Biological Basis of Modern Surgical Practice.--Dr. Courtney M. Townsend, Jr. . . . a transnational story of medicine, medical practices and patient care. Through Spohn's travels and study throughout the U.S., Europe and Latin America, he developed and brought the most advanced care and cures to South Texas. . . . foster[ing] an exchange of ideas across borders --Cecilia Venable, author of Historic Photos of Corpus Christi.--Cecilia Venable This was a book we needed. It fills a large gap in the historical record. The author's meticulous research and immersion in the life and times of Dr. Arthur Spohn give us a fascinating biography of a great doctor on the frontiers of medicine in 19th Century South Texas. Those who spend a little time with this important book will find nothing dull in its pages. --Murphy Givens, coauthor, Corpus Christi: A History --Murphy Givens This book could be housed in all sections of a book store, i.e., biography, history, biology, infectious disease, economics, Texas development, business, politics, and personal interests. Although it was written to detail the life of a little-known Texas surgeon, Arthur E. Spohn MD, readers will find recurrent themes of interest throughout this book. -- Dr. Kenneth L Mattox MD, past President of the America Association for the Surgery of Trauma and Secretary-treasurer of the Michael E. DeBakey International Surgical Society, Distinguished Service Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Surgery-Cardio/Thoracic Surgery, and Chief of Staff and Surgeon-in-Chief at Ben Taub Hospital. (From the Introduction) --Dr. Kenneth Mattox Dr. Arthur Spohn: Surgeon, Inventor, and Texas Medical Pioneer . . . creates for the reader the medical, regional and family worlds in which Spohn moved. . . . the development of South Texas, and the lives of the Kenedy and King families. . . . a valuable, laudable look at Spohn and his world. --Paula Mitchell Marks, Professor Emerita of American Studies at St. Edward's University; past board of Western Writers of America, the Texas Institute of Letters, past president of Texas State Historical Association.--Paula Mitchell Marks

Author Information

Jane Clements Monday is the author of numerous books and coauthor, with Frances Brannen Vick, of award-winning Petra's Legacy: The South Texas Ranching Empire of Petra Vela and Mifflin Kenedy and Letters to Alice: Birth of the Kleberg-King Ranch Dynasty. She has served as chair of the Texas State University System Board of Regents and mayor of Huntsville, Texas. She resides in Huntsville. Frances Brannen Vick is the author or coauthor of numerous books, including Petra's Legacy and Letters to Alice. She founded E-Heart Press and cofounded the University of North Texas Press. Vick has served as president of the Texas Institute of Letters, the Texas State Historical Association, and the Philosophical Society of Texas. She resides in Dallas. Charles W. Monday Jr holds an MD from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and practices general surgery in the Huntsville area.

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