Overview

Dr. Veith would seem an unlikely radical, but he is waging an aggressive and unusually public fight in the clubby world of the medical profession.--The New York Times As one of America's most celebrated vascular surgeons, Dr. Frank Veith's career was anything but conventional--from working undercover with the CIA to fighting to make vascular surgery an independent specialty to creating the largest vascular conference in the world (the VEITHsymposium). Dr. Veith's pioneering leadership led to the development of revolutionary techniques in limb salvage, lung transplantation, and endovascular treatment: including the first endovascular aortic aneurysm repair in North America. It also earned him a reputation as a medical maverick who cared more about his patients than the bottom line. Each of his innovative concepts was initially rejected by a hypercompetitive medical establishment that operated by the metaphorical law of the jungle--eat or be eaten. Hospital administrators, medical organizations, and vying colleagues spent decades trying to discredit his work or dismiss it entirely, either because they refused to believe it was possible or were too jealous to admit the truth. Ultimately, some of them even co-opted his innovations and claimed his research as their own. In The Medical Jungle, Dr. Veith reveals the world of high-level medicine as it has rarely been seen--recounting the stories, techniques, principles, and philosophies that shaped his success. Always going against the grain for the greater good, his perseverance and courage will inspire anyone (in any profession) fighting the good fight.

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9781637552629

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The Medical Jungle describes Dr. Veith's journey in a surgeon's world. It reveals that passion, hard work, and self-belief can overcome resistance to improve medical care. Sadly, it also confirms that necessary changes in medical practice cannot take place if those who are the custodians of change benefit from the status quo. This is a must-read book for all doctors and the public! --PROFESSOR SIR PETER R. F. BELL, past president of the European Society of Vascular Surgery The Medical Jungle is a courageous and honest portrait of a passionate leader and a visionary vascular surgeon. It is a must-read for anyone trying to meaningfully affect any field and build a lasting legacy. --SIMONA ZANNETTI, MD, vice president of clinical research and medical science, peripheral vascular heath, Medtronic The Medical Jungle is compelling both as a fascinating chronicle of a remarkable medical career and a picture of the inner workings of the medical establishment and its failure to allow for change both in medical practice and regulation of the profession. --G. OLIVER KOPPELL, former attorney general of New York Dr. Veith is an icon in academic surgery and a visionary vascular surgery leader. The Medical Jungle vividly portrays his personal persistence to get his innovative contributions accepted as well as his important decades-long fight to establish vascular surgery as a recognized discipline. --DR. HAZIM J. SAFI, founding professor and chairman of the department of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery at McGovern Medical School, University of Texas, in Houston

Author Information

FRANK J. VEITH, MD, is one of America's leading vascular surgeons, a pioneering creator of life- and limb-saving medical advances, and the chairman of VEITHsymposium--the largest vascular surgery conference in the world. He currently serves as a professor of surgery at NYU and the Cleveland Clinic. At various times in a career spanning more than half a century, Dr. Veith has been a leader in every national and international vascular society. He has authored or co-authored more than 900 articles in medical journals. He has received numerous honors, including the Society for Vascular Surgery Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2013, an endowed chair was established in his honor at NYU. Dr. Veith is a graduate of Cornell and completed his surgical residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard. He lives in New York with his wife, Carol. Celebrity interviewer and columnist Glenn Plaskin is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five books, specializing in memoir, business, self-help, leadership, and inspiration.

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