Introduction Of Guest Of Honor by Robert W. Cantrell, MD

One of the great privileges of being President of an organization like this is being able to choose the Guest of Honor. The Guest of Honor in my view should be a person who has contributed in a major way to the Association or the specialty, someone who is dedicated and committed to upholding the high standards of honesty, integrity, and outstanding patient care. It is also a plus if they are a genuine person of good humor who is fun to be with. The Guest of Honor I chose this year embodies all of these attributes. Seymour R. Cohen was born and raised in Chicago and received his BA from the University of Chicago, and his MD degree from the University of Illinois before coming to Southern California to receive his residency training at the University of Southern California. He has remained there since, and upon completion of his residency in 1945, he entered the practice of otolaryngology with our esteemed deceased otologist, Dr Victor Goodhill.

After 3 years he decided, however, to pursue his love of endoscopy and the care of children. He began that practice in 1948 and was at that time, and in fact throughout the 1950s, one of only two or three people in the country who was practicing solely pediatric otolaryngology. The others were Blair Fearon and Charlie Ferguson.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, before the advent of the polio vaccine, Seymour was a consultant to the Communicable Disease Section at Los Angeles County Hospital. There was a polio epidemic at that time, with many cases of bulbar polio, and those unable to breathe would be put in the Denker respirators known as the iron lung, and most of them had tracheostomies. Seymour would perform as many as 500 tracheostomies annually. He also had the responsibility of performing endoscopic procedures and bronchoscopy on patients with tuberculosis - neither of which do we see much of these days.

He was in private practice but rose to the rank of clinical professor at the University of Southern California, and he headed the Otolaryngology Section of the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, continuing his commitment to excellence. I first met Seymour in the early 1970s, when I was the chairman at the Naval Regional Medical Center in San Diego and I invited him down as a visiting professor. All the time that I was in San Diego for that several-year period, he would journey faithfully once or twice a year to lecture to the faculty and residents there. He did this out of his love for teaching and his commitment to excellence. It certainly wasn't for the money, which barely covered his expenses - not to mention the time away from practice.

We developed a fast friendship at that time, and I was very happy to know and admire this man. He became a member of the American Laryngological Association in 1971 and rose to be President of this in 1988. He was also President of the American Broncho-Esophagological Association and received the Chevalier Jackson Award from that society. He was the founding president of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology, and so you might say that he was one of the pioneers in the field that established the subspecialty of pediatric otolaryngology.

He has been loved and supported in all of this by his lovely wife, Dee, and in 1991 they established the Seymour Cohen Fund with a gift of $100,000 to this association. The income of this fund is designed to provide research grants in pediatric otolaryngology. I can think of no one more deserving of this honor bestowed upon him. I present to you Seymour Cohen, endoscopist, laryngologist, and pediatric otolaryngologist.

Thank you, Bob, for those kind and flattering remarks. It was George Ball, intellectual and Undersecretary of State during the Second World War, who said, and I quote, "Flattery is never excessive except when one inhales excessively." I shall breathe normally.

Before giving the address of the Guest of Honor, I would like to express my gratitude to Kimberley and Alexandra Cross and Ian Jekelis, my grandchildren. I had inadvertently left my address at home, and they made a copy of my address from their computer and then faxed the address to me.

Mr. President, Mr Secretary, members of the Council, members of the Association, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to thank the American Laryngological Association for choosing me as its Guest of Honor. This event is very deeply appreciated. It is an extraordinary honor, only exceeded in importance by your having elected me as your President in 1989.

When I was first elected to membership in the Laryngological Association in 1971, 1 recognized how valuable it was to be surrounded by people of genius, ability, and innovation. The tenets of this society are listed in article 11 of the bylaws and truly represent the conscience of this organization. The American Laryngological Association embodies the most essential needs to guarantee its successful future. To be more specific, it fosters basic science and clinical research, which are the building blocks of a well-established scientific organization.

In this day of restrictive budgets and deficits, it is of greatest importance to emphasize financial aid to research. From this need arose the establishment of the Cohen Award. While it is an infinitesimal sum compared to need, it does in a small way stimulate young men and women in medicine to establish a foundation in the field of research. I have asked that contributions to this fund only be made by members of my family.

The addresses of some past Guests of Honor have at times been lengthy, verbose, and frequently laden with criticisms and suggestions for change. I will not burden you with a like commentary. This association represents the finest of men and women of science, and its future is secure. Dr Arthur Proetz, in his address as the Guest of Honor before this society, closed his address with the statement, and I quote, "Words, words and even more words." I will strive to be brief

The German philosopher Schopenhauer advised that "the first 40 years of life represent text and the second thirty years of life were steeped in commentary." Since I have arrived at four score and one, having no advice from the philosopher, I will need to chart new waters.

The basic philosophy of any medical society is the creation of a milieu in which men and women of medicine can meet and exchange ideas in order to relieve the torment of disease. The American Laryngological Association has been and will continue to be at the forefront of the necessary changes of the future.

I was impressed by a foreword written by Dr Albert Einstein in a book entitled Man and His Gods, which was first published in 1952.(1) The book is truly a portrayal of man's fears and mythical ideas and their impact on human destiny. In this foreword, Dr Einstein refers to the atavisms in each of us and questions whether these atavisms can stand in the way of a friendlier destiny and can only thus be rendered ineffective. One can question if whether this genius of science could have foreseen the possibility of genetic engineering to defeat the effects of congenital anomalies. In Homer Smith's view, "Only if every individual strives for truth can humanity obtain a happier future." Dr Einstein continues to say the "training in objective observations of all that is available for immediate perception and in the interpretation of facts without preconceived ideas" is the essence of scientific research. Is it possible that Dr Einstein could have perceived the possibility of weeding out detrimental factors of development in the human?

In closing, I await the superb program prepared by our President, Dr Robert Cantrell. Being your guest of honor is a privilege deserved by many but given to few. Dr Cantrell has truly made me feel important today.

I would like to give special thanks to my dear wife Dee for her love and support. Her patience even in stressful moments will live within me forever. To Dr Paul Ward I give thanks and deep appreciation for the many hours he spent helping me construct the Cohen Award. To all of you I wish godspeed and good health. May you all continue to offer your financial support to this most loved association.

REFERENCE

1. Smith HW. Man and his gods. Boston, Mass: Little, Brown and Co, 1952. Return