Rozycki-Feliciano Lecture Rudolph Matas, the Father of Vascular Surgery

Abstract

Rudolph Matas (1860-1957) was one of the foremost figures in the history of vascular surgery. He is considered the father of vascular surgery for his operations for arteriovenous fistula and peripheral artery aneurysm, all devised before the isolation of heparin and the wide adoption of techniques for vascular anastomosis. A medical and surgical prodigy, Matas received his medical degree from Tulane University at age 19 (1880) and was named its chair of surgery at 35 (1895), a position he would hold until 1927. A contemporary and friend of Halsted, Matas throughout his career was known as a leader in the field, holding the presidencies of the American College of Surgeons (1925-1926) and the American Surgical Association (1909). He maintained loyal relationships to those who trained in surgery with him at Touro Hospital in New Orleans, including the author’s grandfather, the first Richard J. Field. Matas was an honored guest at the dedication of the Centreville Clinic in 1928, the facility where three generations of Field surgeons have provided continuous service to its rural Mississippi community for nearly a century.