Louis Gilula, MD—A Tribute

Abstract

We were all recently informed that Louis Gilula, MD, has succumbed after a long struggle with illness. He was a pioneer in musculoskeletal radiology long before it was a separate specialty, and he was intimately involved with the wrist surgery community for over three decades. His influence extended well beyond his publications. He had overcome other life-threatening conditions before and faced them in characteristic fashion each time with a head-on, eyes-open approach and refused to give in. He remained courageous to the end and largely kept his struggle from the public eye. We will sorely miss him; his passing is going to leave a huge hole in our professional lives. It is impossible to read any publication on disorders of the wrist without coming across at least one or more citations of his writings. Along with Julio Taleisnik, MD, he guided the International Wrist Investigators Workshop for over two decades. He fought to maintain its purity and impartiality, free of commercial bias, so that it could remain a nonthreatening and neutral meeting place, where prominent wrist surgeons worldwide could share their preliminary work and receive honest and unbiased feedback from their peers without fear of rejection or recrimination. All those who knew Lou professionally were influenced by his teaching, and those who knew him personally are greatly saddened by our loss.