Encomium: Philipp Maria Lippe, MD, FACS, DABPM

Abstract

It is better to write an encomium than an obituary. There is no grief or regret. This will also give the subject the opportunity to protest in person all errors, omissions, and hyperbole. This is not, however, a pre-obituary. We look forward to working with Phil for many years. It will be necessarily brief and touch on only a few of his accomplishments. It will not include any anecdotes, especially relating to oenophilia, gastronomy, “dromaiusology” (the study of emus) and “cyprinusology” (the study of koi). We would have to recognize that Phil was the original “Urban Spoon” and that he can euphemize libations with the best of them. Phil's life has been guided by three principles: his love of his biologic family, his love of his extended professional family, and his love of intellectual and ethical challenges. He has been a mentor to many of today's pain medicine leaders and thinkers. Innumerable patients have had their lives improved by his indefatigable efforts on their behalf in medical, political, and social arenas. Phil was born in Vienna, Austria. He moved to the United States in 1929 and graduated in medicine from the University of Illinois, College of Medicine, where he also completed his neurosurgical training. He is a Clinical Professor of Neurological Surgery at Stanford University, having been initially appointed to the faculty in 1963. Phil married Gail in 1977. They have seven children and grandchildren. The “Phil ‘n’ Gail Show” has been on the road for decades, traveling incessantly to promote the specialty of Pain Medicine and improved access and care for persons in pain. Phil would be the first to say that Gail has been indispensable to his advocacy efforts. Those of us who are lucky enough to have been befriended by them see a highly-integrated dyad, sharing a …