In memoriam: James A DeWeese,MD

Vascular surgery will greatly miss one of its true pioneers, Dr. James Arville DeWeese (Figure 1). Born and raised in Kent, Ohio, Dr. Jim DeWeese graduated from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and completed his surgery residency at Strong Memorial Hospital. He rose through the academic ranks there to become professor of surgery, chairman of the division of cardiothoracic surgery and chief of the section of vascular surgery. Although he practiced cardiac surgery throughout his career, his many vascular trainees believe that he loved vascular surgery more. He played an important role in the development of vascular surgery as a separate specialty. He served as president of both the Society for Vascular Surgery and the North American Chapter of the International Society of Cardiovascular Surgery. He was later chairman of their Joint Committee on Certification and Accreditation which defined the requirements and implementation of the first certification process for vascular surgery training programs. He was also the program director in vascular surgery at the University of Rochester – a premier fellowship in which he trained many subsequent leaders of vascular surgery. In the venous field, he developed along with Dr. James Adams an inferior vena cava clip which bears his name and, before the advent of IVC filters, allowed continued blood flow yet prevented pulmonary embolization. He was one of five leaders selected by the Joint Council of the Vascular Societies in 1987 to establish the American Venous Forum, of which he was the sixth president. Dr. DeWeese had an exemplary career and should remain an inspiration for future generations of vascular surgeons. OPEN IN VIEWER