Curtis P. Artz (1915–1977) was an American trauma surgeon and burn care specialist.[1] He served in the U.S. Army working in surgical research, founded and led several organizations dedicated to surgery and burn care, published medical textbooks and academic articles, and taught as a Professor of Surgery at multiple colleges and universities throughout the U.S.[2][3]
Artz was born in central Ohio and went on to earn his bachelor's and M.D. degrees from Ohio State University.[1] There he met his wife, Lucy, and they were married in 1939.[1] In 1940, Artz was a resident at the Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and soon after began general practice in Calhoun County, West Virginia.[2] While working in Calhoun County in 1941, Artz was commended for his treatment of a 64-year-old man who experienced an accident causing severe trauma to his leg.[2] Artz treated the patient using a dried powdered form of blood plasma,[4] as an alternative to blood transfusion, which was a new development in medical technology at the time.[1][2] An ambulance transported the patient to a nearby hospital in Parkersburg, where Artz successfully amputated the patient's leg.[2] In 1943, Artz treated a three-year-old girl who suffered serious burn injuries, but did not survive.[1][2]
In 1948, Artz joined the United States Army.[2] He worked at several Army hospitals across the country, most notably the Brooke Army Hospital, where he became Chief of Research and Commanding Officer of the US Army Surgical Research Unit.[1]
During the Korean War, Artz served as director of the 46th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.[1][5] There his team treated over 250 patients with battle wounds, mostly abdominal wounds, and focused on reducing fatalities among trauma patients.[5] The patients were the subject of four volumes of published research. In 1956, Artz suffered a heart attack and was medically discharged.[1]
In 1960, Artz and James Hardy co-authored the textbook Complications in Surgery, which covered everything from wounds to organ transplants.[1][6] The textbook soon became standard reading for resident surgeons.[6]
In 1967, Artz worked with biomechanical engineer Tom Hargest to patent the air-fluidized bed, which eliminates the need for manually turning wound care patients.[1] The bed, marketed by the SSI as the Clinitron bed, gives the patient a sensation of "floating" by allowing their body weight to be evenly distributed across a large surface area.[7] The bed also uses pressurized warm air to move small ceramic beads around under the patient, encouraging the continuous movement and circulation of fluid.[7]
Throughout his career, Artz served as a leader and founder of multiple organizations.[1][2][3]
Organization | Role |
---|---|
American Burn Association | Founding member, first president |
American Association for the Surgery of Trauma | President |
American Trauma Society | Founding member, president |
Southeastern Surgical Congress | President |
American College of Surgeons | Vice President |
ACS Committee on Trauma | Chairman |
ACS Board of Governors | Vice chairman |
Committee on Trauma National Research Council | Chairman |
Parkersburg Academy of Medicine | President |
Medical University of South Carolina | Chairman, Chief of Surgery |
The Medical University of South Carolina Curtis P. Artz Surgical Society, an organization for alumni of the school's surgical residency program, was founded and named after him in 1974.[8]