Dr. Leslie H. Blumgart - A 'Living Legend' and 'The Professor'.

Abstract

Dr Leslie Blumgart, a name that requires no introduction, was a pioneer and one of the most influential figures in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery. His methods and innovations have revolutionized the way these pathologies are being approached. He was one of the pioneering surgeons in the world who sought to make hepatopancreaticobiliary surgery a recognized specialty. His work took this field from a place with frequent and drastic complications to a safer and more effective zone. He was born to Harold Herman Blumgart and Hilda Blumgart on December 7, 1931, in South Africa. He did his schooling at Jepp High School in Johanessburg and was initially trained as a dentist at Witwatersrand University in Johanessburg in 1954, where he completed his graduation. He later moved to England, where he received his medical degree and surgical training at the University of Sheffield and graduated with an MBChB and MD. He accepted his first academic position as Lecturer and Deputy Director, Department of Surgery, Welsh National School of Medicine, Cardiff, from 1970 to 1972. He subsequently moved to the Glasgow Royal Infirmary as the St. Mungo Professor of Surgery from 1972 to 1979. He then served as Professor Director and Honorary Consultant Surgeon for the Department of Surgery at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, University of London and Honorary Consultant, Hammersmith Hospital, London, 1979–1986. He was later recruited as Professor and Director of the Department of Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Bern in Switzerland from 1986 to1991. In 1991, he accepted the position of Chief of the Hepatopancreaticobiliary Service in the Department of Surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, New York, and was the holder of the Enid Haupt Chair. He was promoted to director of the program on hepatobiliary diseases in 1995. Dr Blumgart has authored over 600 peer-reviewed papers, edited 15 books, and written over 150 book chapters1. He has authored a number of books, including Blumgart’s Surgery of the Liver, Biliary Tract, and Pancreas2, currently in its 7th edition, and the Video Atlas: Liver, Biliary & Pancreatic Surgery. He has served on the editorial boards of 14 major journals in surgery, gastroenterology, and oncology. He has lectured widely as a visiting professor in the United States and abroad, delivering over 200 lectures and orations.He was a founding member of the International Biliary Association (now the International Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary Association) and later rose to become its president. In more recent years, he was honored by the International Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary Association as a ‘living legend.’ He was also a member of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, the United States of America, the Hong Kong Surgical Society, the Hellenic Surgical Society, the Los Angeles Surgical Society, and the Yugoslav Society of Surgery. Following his significant contributions to surgical oncology, and in particular to Hepatopancreaticobiliary surgery, Dr Blumgart was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award during the opening session of 34th Congress of the European Society of Surgical Oncology in partnership with British Association of Surgical Oncologists, 2014. Some of the many laurels he received during his career are honorary fellowships from multiple surgical colleges around the world, including the Royal Colleges of Surgeons in Edinburgh (Glasgow), the French Surgical Association, the Austrian Society of Surgery and the Italian Society of Surgery. He was also awarded the Acral Medal of the Swedish Society of Surgery. ‘The Professor,’ as he was called by his trainees, was a dominant figure in the evolution of hepatopancreaticobiliary surgery around the world for almost 50 years. He had built a great hepatopancreaticobiliary surgery academic and clinical program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre since 1991 and had trained a generation of surgical oncologists and hepatopancreaticobiliary surgeons who now carry forward his legacy. Dr Blumgart also generated a video library of complex hepatopancreaticobiliary procedures which he used in simplifying the training of many surgeons for many years. Watercolor painting and wood carving were his lesser-well known talents, which he pursued after he retired from clinical practice. Dr Blumgart recently passed away on September 27, 2022, and is survived by his wife Sarah Blumgart, and his children and grandchildren. Ethical approval None. Sources of funding None. Authors’ contribution H.A.: resources, writing – original draft, visualization. N.G.: conceptualization, validation, supervision. Conflict of interest disclosure The author declare that they have no conflict of interest. Research registration unique identifying number (UIN) None. Guarantor Nikhil Gupta and Himanshu Agrawal.