William E. Ladd, M.D.: great pioneer of North American pediatric surgery

William E. Ladd (1880-1967) was the great pioneer pediatric surgeon of North America. His family had been New England merchants. He was educated at Harvard and worked within the Harvard Medical School during his entire surgical career. He began to limit his surgical practice to the care of infants and children at the Boston Children's Hospital soon after World War I. One basis for his great contributions lay in the establishment of an accurate medical records system with a thorough follow-up of the patients. Another basic factor was the development of uniform policies and methods for each type of surgical disease. These policies and methods then underwent evolution as potential improvements appeared. Using this general approach, Ladd influenced the improvement in care of almost all of the common types of pediatric disease treatable by surgery. Among the earliest were intussusception and pyloric stenosis. Later, among many other things, he developed useful systems for the treatment of hernias, rectal bleeding, biliary atresia, failure of rotation of the G.I. tract, rectal anomalies, and exstrophy of the bladder. He made unusual contributions to the care of Wilms' tumor and atresia of the esophagus. He was a great teacher. His pupils have become the teachers of many other pediatric surgeons throughout the world.