The History of the Southwestern Surgical Congress: 1949–1998 Introduction

Abstract

The first thought of organizing the Southwestern Surgical Congress originated in a discussion between Drs. B.T. Beasley of Atlanta, Georgia; R. L. Sanders of Memphis, Tennessee; and Walter Stuck of San Antonio, Texas during the 1948 meeting of the Southeastern Surgical Congress in Hollywood, Florida. They emphasized that the Southwest was the only area in the United States not represented by a regional surgical organization. Drs. Beasley and Sanders encouraged Dr. Stuck to explore the feasibility of developing such an organization.