Basil A. Pruitt, Jr., MD (Photo 1) passed away on Sunday, 17 March 2019, at the age of 88. Dr. Pruitt had a major and sustained international impact on the fields of surgery, burns care, trauma, and critical care. He was a teacher and mentor as well as an old friend to many Japanese physicians in the fields of trauma, burns, and acute medicine. He was inducted as the first foreign honorary member of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine (JAAM) in 2011(Photo 2).
Photo 1.
Basil A. Pruitt, Jr., M.D.
Photo 2.
Basil A. Pruitt, Jr., M.D. was a certified member of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine (JAAM). He was the first foreign honorary member of the JAAM in 2011.
Dr. Pruitt was born on 21 August 1930. He graduated from Harvard College in 1952 followed by Medical School at Tufts (1957). He had surgical residency at Boston City Hospital (1957–1962) and then completed his residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in 1964. After serving at the busiest evacuation hospital in Vietnam, Dr. Pruitt returned in 1968 to become the Commander and Director of the US Army Institute of Surgical Research (ISR), where he served for the next 27 years contributing to the development of modern management of trauma, burn, and critically ill or injured patients.
Dr. Pruitt retired from the Army in 1995 and accepted a faculty position as Professor of Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He served as Editor‐in‐Chief of the Journal of Trauma for 17 years, was elected as the president of 12 surgical societies, published over 470 peer‐reviewed papers, 181 textbook chapters, and 15 books and monographs, and received numerous national and international awards for his work.
Dr. Pruitt's work as a leader, surgeon, and scientist with the USA‐ISR attracted the brightest surgeons and researchers worldwide, including Japanese physicians who then became chairs in the Japanese fields of Acute Medicine and Critical Care. He was invited to Japan nearly 10 times as a special guest speaker to several academic societies such as JAAM, the Japanese Society for Burn Injuries, and the Japanese Society for the Surgery of Trauma. One of his favorite pastimes in Japan was visiting galleries specialized in traditional woodblock print, often called ukiyo‐e.
Dr. Pruitt supported collaborative sessions with the JAAM for the 2004 and 2008 annual meetings of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma held in Hawaii, during which time the Ryder Cup, a golf competition between teams from Japan and the USA, was held. Dr. Pruitt served as an International Executive Advisory Board member of Acute Medicine & Surgery, the official English journal of the JAAM, while serving as a member of the editorial boards of 13 other journals.
A great surgeon, a committed clinical scientist, a caring teacher, a great mentor, and a strong leader, he will always remain in our memory. We will always cherish the memories that we are privileged to have of him. May he rest in peace.