Festschrift in honour of Dr. Roger Keith

Summary

The festschrift in honour of Dr. Roger Keith, past editor of the Canadian Journal of Surgery, includes essays (available at canjsurg.ca), written from a personal perspective, on the development of specialty surgery in Canada (Richard Nason, Michael Marcaccio, Michael Kelly and Lissa Peeling), evolution of the certification examination (Ward Davies), building of a megahospital (Gerald Fried) and on the changes in surgical education (Edward Davies, Christopher DeGara, E. Christopher Ellison, Richard Prinz and William Pollett), as well as personal reflections (Andrew Warshaw, Stewart Hamilton).

Dr. Roger Keith, editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal of Surgery from 1992 to 1998.

A festschrift is a collection of essays written to honour the contributions of a colleague during his or her career. These essays are not about the colleague, but about the science. A theme is often chosen to align with the interests of the honoree. In June 2017, several colleagues of Dr. Roger Keith will gather in Saskatoon, Sask., to discuss topics regarding the past and future of surgery and its subspecialties, particularly surgical education and hepatopancreatobiliary surgery. The Canadian Journal of Surgery is pleased to collaborate in the production of this festschrift for its former editor, Dr. Keith.

Roger Keith was born in Calgary in August 1940. After completing his medical doctorate at the University of Alberta and general surgery residency at the University of Toronto, Dr. Keith went to Toulouse (Professor Jean Escat), London (Sir Rodney Smith), Los Angeles (Dr. William Longmire) and Seattle (Dr. Thomas T. White) to gain the best training in liver and pancreatic surgery (known today as HPB surgery). Hepatopancreatobiliary surgery, including endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, became Dr. Keith’s specialty, and he led its development in Canada over the next 40 years. In 1990 he moved back west and became the professor and head of surgery at the University of Saskatchewan. He contributed to the rapid development of surgical education through leadership roles, many of which continue today, at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the American College of Surgeons, the Canadian Association of General Surgeons, the American Surgical Association and the James IV Association of Surgeons. Dr. Keith was editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal of Surgery from 1992 to 1998.¹

This festschrift is opened by a description of challenges facing medical schools in the 21st century (Dr. Grant Miller, University of Saskatchewan) and continues with essays on the development surgery in Canada: neurosurgery in Saskatchewan (Drs. Michael Kelly and Lissa Peeling, University of Saskatchewan); HPB surgery, including transplantation (Dr. William Wall, University of Western Ontario); head and neck surgery (Dr. Richard Nason, University of Manitoba) and endoscopy (Dr. Michael Marcaccio, McMaster University) as well as a personal account of participation in Canada’s military hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan, as a civilian surgeon (Dr. Stewart Hamilton, University of Alberta). Essays on surgical education include the topics of undergraduate education (Dr. Christopher DeGara, University of Alberta), postgraduate education (Dr. E. Christopher Ellison, Ohio State University), academic surgery (Dr. Richard Prinz, University of Chicago) and continuing education (Dr. William Pollett, Memorial University of Newfoundland). Chief examiner Dr. Ward Davies (University of Western Ontario) reflects on the evolution of the certification examinations of the Royal College. Dr. Gerald Fried (McGill University) describes the development of Canada’s latest megahospital in Montreal. These essays are written from a personal perspective by surgical colleagues of Dr. Keith who also have a lifetime of contributions to the science. As Dr. Andrew Warshaw (Harvard Medical School) remarked referring to his idol of outcome research in surgery, Dr. Ernest Codman (1869–1940), that Dr. Keith’s career would have met with praise and approval from Dr. Codman, a sentiment echoed in the essays of this festschrift.