Lyman A. Brewer III (1907-1988): surgeon-scientist, inspirational teacher, and humanist

Dr. Lyman Augustus Brewer III, a distinguished, colorful thoracic surgeon and among the first to practice that specialty in the West, died on June 25, 1988, in Los Angeles, California, after a courageous battle with lymphoma. Dr. Brewer was a great humanist, innovative clinical surgeon, charismatic teacher, and surgical leader. In World War II, Lieutenant Colonel Brewer served in the Second Auxiliary Surgical Group in the Mediterranean and European theaters and helped define criteria that became the standard for the management of thoracic war injuries. Out of this experience he authored the classic paper, "The Wet Lung in War Casualties." Dr. Brewer's scientific contributions embraced the broad spectrum of thoracic surgical topics, including treatment of tuberculosis, classification of lung cancer, bronchial stump buttressing using the pericardial fat pad (Brewer fat pad), and management of esophageal perforation. Dr Brewer wrote seven books and more than 100 papers, and served as First Vice President of The American College of Surgeons and as President of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and The Pacific Coast Surgical Association.