Letters

A lasting impact

I would like to express my gratitude for the opportunity to get acquainted with Yale Medicine Magazine on a regular basis.

Although more than 30 years have passed since my postgraduate studies in orthopedic surgery at Yale, I still consider it one of the most significant turning points in my professional career. This happened thanks to the university and the late Kristaps Keggi, MD, professor emeritus and senior research scientist of orthopedics and rehabilitation, who died in July 2023.

Your magazine allows me to keep my connection with Yale alive, to delve into the activities of the medical school, and to become familiar with the developments in the life of the many clinics and scientific institutes.

Professor Jānis Vētra, Dr. habil. med. (doctor habilitatus medicinae) Rīga Stradiņš University, Riga, Latvia

Notes from an alum

In addition to my practice as an ophthalmologist, I collect historical documents as a hobby. I’ve donated more than a dozen collections to research libraries, including seven to Yale University libraries.

I recently made an in-kind gift to the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library. The collection includes bound volumes of a renowned Yale medical student’s hand-illustrated notes and diagrams from the early 1920s.

George T. Pack, MD, has an extraordinary affiliation with Yale School of Medicine (YSM). He was a graduate student at Ohio State University who was invited in 1918 by Milton Winternitz, MD, (later dean of YSM, 1920–1935) to lecture at the medical school. When Winternitz discovered that Pack was not a medical doctor, he invited him to enroll at YSM. Pack completed his MD degree in 1922.

Pack became a surgical oncologist to world leaders in the mid-20th century. He traveled twice (in secret) to operate on Eva Perón, the first lady of Argentina. As a physician to “very, very important persons,” Pack also shared stories with colleagues and residents.

In one of Pack’s 1960s lectures at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, he told colleagues that a Boston-based friend, Frank Lahey, MD, had secretly diagnosed Franklin D. Roosevelt with “advanced cancer” and advised the president he might not survive a fourth term. The diagnosis was never confirmed, and FDR’s death in 1945 was attributed to a stroke.

Visit m.yale.edu/pack-collection to view the collection online.

Ravi D. Goel, MD Cherry Hill, New Jersey Yale College ’93

We’d like to hear from you…

As a reader of Yale Medicine Magazine, your opinions matter. Whether you’re a Yale School of Medicine (YSM) alumnus or alumna, faculty member, student, prospective donor, or part of the larger medical, educational, and scientific community, this magazine is produced for you.

As we share articles that describe YSM’s continuing tradition of excellence in biomedical research, advanced clinical care, and medical education, our goal is to not only inform but also create an engaging and thought-provoking reading experience. To help us achieve this objective, we’d like to hear what you want to see more of—or less of—in future issues of Yale Medicine Magazine. We’d also appreciate knowing whether you enjoy receiving a print copy of the magazine or would prefer a digital version.

With gratitude for your readership,

Rebecca Shannonhouse, Executive Editor

Email us at ymm@yale.edu or write to Yale Medicine Magazine, 50 Division Street, 2 Science Park, New Haven, CT 06511.