Pioneer Surgeon W. Glenn Young dies

On December 21, 2004, the Duke surgical community was saddened by  the death of William Glenn Young Jr.  Dr. Young was Professor Emeritus of Surgery at Duke University Medical Center.

Glenn Young was born in Washington DC on February 25, 1925. He began his career at Duke in 1942 as an undergraduate where he was Phi Beta Kappa and then completed medical school in 1947. 

Dr. Young continued his post-graduate training at Duke and in 1957 joined the faculty.  By 1964 he became Professor of Surgery and remained at Duke for his entire career.

Dr. Young made seminal contributions in cardiothoracic surgery during an exciting time of tremendous development in the field.  Through the 1950’s and 60’s  Drs. Young, Ivan Brown, and Will Sealy published pioneering work in extracorporeal circulation and the use of hypothermia.  Dr. Young performed the first coronary artery bypass grafting at Duke University and in 1963 was the first to replace the aortic valve for acute bacterial endocarditis.  In addition to cardiovascular surgery, Dr. Young also wrote  extensively on disorders of the lung and esophagus and was an author of over 150 manuscripts.

Glenn Young was a member of the STS, AATS, American Surgical, Southern Surgical, Southern Association for Vascular Surgery, and was president of the Southern Thoracic  Surgical Association

He is remembered as a loving husband and father, master surgeon, gifted teacher and respected colleague. He was a true gentleman and most importantly a loyal friend to the many residents that he trained.

 
Walter G. Wolfe, MD
Professor of Surgery                                                           

Ashish S. Shah MD
Chief Resident in Thoracic Surgery      

Duke University Medical Center  
Durham, NC