The contributions of John B. Murphy to thoracic surgery

John B. Murphy was a prominent surgeon who lived in Chicago from the 1880s until his death in 1916. During his career, he was associated with both Rush Presbyterian and Northwestern Medical Schools. He was responsible for popularizing the use of an artificial pneumothorax as an effective adjunct in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. This modality was not, however, his original concept. In addition to all of the fields of general surgery, Murphy undertook the management of empyema and lesions of the chest wall and also performed thoracoplasty procedures. Although he had done several thoracotomy procedures in his laboratory, he rarely undertook this operation in a clinical setting. Drop ether anesthesia was used for all surgical procedures. Murphy did not use closed water seal drainage of the chest. His oration on thoracic surgery, given at the annual meeting of the AMA, in 1898, was an excellent monograph on the subject and undoubtedly contributed to the increased interest and progress in this field of surgery. Murphy was a wise surgeon, an able technician and a scholarly teacher. The high regard in which he was held by his contemporaries is best expressed by the remark of William Mayo, "...he was the surgical genius of our generation".