The Conscience of Surgery: C. Rollins Hanlon, MD, FACS

David L. Nahrwold, MD, FACS, wrote this account of the extraordinary life of C. Rollins Hanlon, MD, FACS, Director of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), 1969–1986. Dr. Hanlon, an erudite, principled cardiothoracic surgeon and innovator, co-developed the Blalock-Hanlon operation with Alfred Blalock. He was trained by, worked alongside, and was friends with eminent surgeons at Johns Hopkins Medical School, Cincinnati General Hospital, and the University of California, San Francisco, and served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. Dr. Hanlon had a distinguished surgical career at Johns Hopkins and at St. Louis University—where, as chair of surgery, he developed the institution’s cardiac research capabilities, which helped to pioneer early open-heart and heart-transplant procedures. As Director, President, and Executive Consultant for the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Hanlon had a profound effect on the direction and philosophy of the College. He received the first ACS Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dr. Nahrwold served as a Regent, Chairman of the Board of Governors, First Vice-President, and Interim Director of the American College of Surgeons, and received its Distinguished Service Award. He is the author of
A Mirror Reflecting Surgery, Surgeons, and their College: The Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons and co-author of
A Century of Surgeons and Surgery: The American College of Surgeons 1913–2012.