Fractures of the Neck of the Femur in Childhood

John Cree Wilson, Sr, was born in Santa Ana, California, and received his undergraduate degree from the University of California in 1908 and medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco, in 1912 [2]. He had a one year internship, then entered private practice, but apparently believed he needed more training and in 1916 quit his private practice for postgraduate training at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He completed that training, then served in military hospital at Fort McPherson, Georgia, when the US entered WW I. Following discharge he moved to Los Angeles, working at the Los Angeles General Hospital and then the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. He became Chief of the Orthopaedic Division at the Children’s Hospital, a post he retained until 1955. Wilson was one of the first three AAOS Presidents (the others being Drs. Melvin Henderson and Edwin Ryerson) who was also a founding member of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery in 1934 [3]. He was also one of the first three AAOS Presidents (the others being Philip D. Wilson and Melvin Henderson) who had a son, John C. Wilson, Jr, who later served as a President of the AAOS. In his Presidential Address to the AAOS in Memphis, Tennessee in 1939, he noted, ‘‘It is indeed gratifying to see that our Program Committee has stepped outside the bounds of our specialty to bring speakers from other fields of medicine. A good orthopaedic surgeon must first of all be a good doctor...Unfortunately, many specialists see problems from only one point of view. Such short vision inevitably produces detrimental results which might often be avoided by more frequent exchange of ideas with out medical colleagues’’ [1]. The article we highlight, ‘‘Fractures of the Neck of the Femur in Childhood’’ [4], relates to his primary interest, children’s orthopaedics. He commented, ‘‘A review of the English literature on the subject of fractures of the neck of the femur in childhood leaves one with the impression that they respond to the regular forms of treatment as do those in adults...A study of the author’s series of cases gives rise to a somewhat different view.’’ He acknowledges several earlier case reports suggesting higher rates of complications, and added to that small literature his own series of ten patients. In documenting the outcomes he remarked, ‘‘A study of this series of patients forces us to conclude that fractures of the neck of the femur in childhood are serious injuries.’’ Clearly, Wilson was one to challenge dogma. One observer remarked, ‘‘There were no ex cathedra pronouncements by the Chief, but rather an opportunity for John C. Wilson, Sr, MD is shown. Photograph is reproduced with permission and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Fifty Years of Progress, 1983.