# Tom Shires > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tom_Shires > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tom_Shires.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Shires > Source revision: 1316827739 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American surgeon (1925–2007)}} {{Infobox scientist | name = G. Tom Shires | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = November 22, 1925 | birth_place = Waco, Texas, US | death_date = October 18, 2007 (aged 81) | death_place = Henderson, Nevada, US | residence = | citizenship = | ethnicity = | field = [Surgery](/source/Surgery) | work_institution = [University of Texas](/source/University_of_Texas), Dallas; [University of Washington](/source/University_of_Washington), Seattle; [Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University), New York; [Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center](/source/Texas_Tech_University_Health_Sciences_Center), Lubbock; [University of Nevada](/source/University_of_Nevada%2C_Las_Vegas), Las Vegas, US | alma_mater = [University of Texas](/source/University_of_Texas), Dallas, US | doctoral_advisor = | doctoral_students = | known_for = [Shock](/source/Shock_(circulatory)) | author_abbreviation_bot = | author_abbreviation_zoo = | prizes = | religion = | footnotes = }} '''George Thomas Shires''' (November 22, 1925 – October 18, 2007) was an American [trauma](/source/Physical_trauma) [surgeon](/source/surgeon). He is known for his research on [shock](/source/Shock_(circulatory)), which initiated the current practice of giving [saline](/source/Saline_(medicine)) to trauma and surgical patients. He operated on [John Connally](/source/John_Connally) and [Lee Harvey Oswald](/source/Lee_Harvey_Oswald) after the [assassination of John F. Kennedy](/source/assassination_of_John_F._Kennedy). ==Biography== Born in [Waco, Texas](/source/Waco%2C_Texas) Shires was brought up in [Dallas](/source/Dallas).{{cite journal | last1 = Oransky | first1 = I | year = 2008 | title = G Tom Shires | url = | journal = Lancet | volume = 371 | issue = | page = 200 }}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/nyregion/22shires.html|last=Dicke|first=W. G.|title=Tom Shires, 81, Trauma Expert, Dies|newspaper=New York Times|date=22 October 2007|accessdate=4 February 2008}} He graduated from [Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas, Texas)](/source/Woodrow_Wilson_High_School_(Dallas%2C_Texas)) in 1942 and thereafter gained a [B.S.](/source/Bachelor_of_Science) degree from the [University of Texas](/source/University_of_Texas) (1944), and an [M.D.](/source/Doctor_of_Medicine) degree from the Southwestern Medical School, a school that opened five years earlier and is now called the [University of Texas Southwestern Medical School](/source/University_of_Texas_Southwestern_Medical_School) (1948).[http://www.medicine.nevada.edu/residency/lasvegas/surgery/faculty/Tom_Shires.asp University of Nevada School of Medicine: G. Tom Shires, M.D.: Director, Trauma Institute] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720012035/http://www.medicine.nevada.edu/residency/lasvegas/surgery/faculty/Tom_Shires.asp |date=2011-07-20 }} (accessed 4 February 2008) During his time as an undergraduate at Texas, Shires was initiated into the [Pi Kappa Alpha](/source/Pi_Kappa_Alpha) fraternity.{{cite book|title=Cactus Yearbook|year=1944|publisher=University of Texas|location=Austin, TX|page=432|url=http://mediasvc.ancestrylibrary.com/image/f9bfc47ab1b744bccfec343b52a76ded/128677706.jpg?MaxWidth=4500&MaxHeight=4500&Enhancement=AdaptiveContrast&ImageQuality=UltraHighQuality&client=SUI&version=gGR3LWAWzwg}} He was married to Robbie Jo Shires (Martin); the couple had a son and two daughters. Shires died of [gastrointestinal cancer](/source/gastrointestinal_cancer) at [Henderson, Nevada](/source/Henderson%2C_Nevada) in 2007. ==Career== Shires served his residency at the [Parkland Memorial Hospital](/source/Parkland_Memorial_Hospital) in [Dallas](/source/Dallas). He worked at the [U.S. Naval Medical Research Institute](/source/National_Naval_Medical_Center) in [Bethesda](/source/Bethesda%2C_Maryland) (1949–1950) and as a surgeon in the [U.S. Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) on the hospital ship [USS ''Haven''](/source/USS_Haven) (1953–55). In 1957, he joined the faculty of the [University of Texas Southwestern Medical School](/source/University_of_Texas_Southwestern_Medical_School) in Dallas, becoming chair of surgery in 1961. During his time in Dallas, he worked with the Dallas Fire Department to initiate one of the country's earliest paramedic systems. In 1974, he briefly served as chair of surgery at the [University of Washington](/source/University_of_Washington) in [Seattle](/source/Seattle). Shires then became chair of surgery at [Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University) Medical College in [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) in 1975, where he also served as dean and provost of medicine (1987–91). At Cornell, he was instrumental in establishing a trauma centre and, in 1976, a burns centre. Now part of the [NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital](/source/NewYork-Presbyterian_Hospital)/[Weill Cornell Medical Center](/source/Weill_Cornell_Medical_College_of_Cornell_University), the burns centre has become an internationally recognised facility which is among the busiest in the USA, treating a thousand patients annually. He was also involved in reorganising New York's emergency services. From 1991 to 1995, Shires chaired the surgery department at [Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center](/source/Texas_Tech_University_Health_Sciences_Center) in [Lubbock](/source/Lubbock%2C_Texas). He then served as director of the Trauma Institute at the [University of Nevada](/source/University_of_Nevada%2C_Las_Vegas) at [Las Vegas](/source/Las_Vegas%2C_Nevada), a post he held until his death. ===Assassination of John F. Kennedy=== After President [John F. Kennedy was shot](/source/Assassination_of_John_F._Kennedy) in 1963, Shires was brought to [Parkland Memorial Hospital](/source/Parkland_Memorial_Hospital) from Galveston where he was speaking, by a NASA jet. Shires was then chief of surgery, and it was he who issued the statement that the president had been dead on arrival at the hospital. Shires successfully operated on [John Connally](/source/John_Connally), the Governor of Texas, who was also wounded in the assassination. These events coincidentally occurred on Shires’ birthday. He later also operated unsuccessfully on gunman [Lee Harvey Oswald](/source/Lee_Harvey_Oswald) after he was shot by [Jack Ruby](/source/Jack_Ruby). Shires later coincidentally died on Oswald’s birthday.{{cite book|last=Huffaker|first=R.|title=When the News Went Live: Dallas 1963|pages=61–62|publisher=Taylor|year=2004|ISBN=1589791398|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NWlOsfGbB-kC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=%22tom+shires%22|accessdate=4 February 2008}} ==Research and writing== Shires' research in the 1960s on the physiology of [shock](/source/Shock_(circulatory)) showed that, contrary to the practice of the time, surgical patients and patients with [trauma](/source/Physical_trauma) require intravenous [saline](/source/saline_(medicine)) solution. According to [Philip Barie](/source/Philip_Barie) (critical care and trauma chief at [Cornell](/source/Cornell_University)), this discovery "changed the practice of medicine" and was responsible for current medical practice. His other research areas included the treatment of [burn](/source/burn)s;{{cite journal | last1 = Hefton | first1 = JM | last2 = Madden | first2 = MR | last3 = Finkelstein | first3 = JL | last4 = Shires | first4 = GT | year = 1983 | title = Grafting of burn patients with allografts of cultured epidermal cells | url = | journal = Lancet | volume = 2 | issue = 8347| pages = 428–430 | pmid = 6135914 }} management of the severe exfoliating disorders, [toxic epidermal necrolysis](/source/toxic_epidermal_necrolysis) and [Stevens–Johnson syndrome](/source/Stevens%E2%80%93Johnson_syndrome);{{cite journal | last1 = Halebian | first1 = PH | last2 = Shires | first2 = GT | year = 1989 | title = Burn unit treatment of acute, severe exfoliating disorders | url = | journal = Annu Rev Med | volume = 40 | issue = | pages = 137–147 | pmid = 2658743 | doi = 10.1146/annurev.me.40.020189.001033 }} physiology of [haemorrhage](/source/haemorrhage);{{cite journal | last1 = Shires | first1 = GT | last2 = Cunningham | first2 = JN | last3 = Backer | first3 = CR | display-authors = etal | year = 1972 | title = Alterations in cellular membrane function during hemorrhagic shock in primates | journal = Ann Surg | volume = 176 | issue = | pages = 288–295 | pmid = 4627396 | pmc = 1355392 }} responses to [endotoxin](/source/endotoxin);{{cite journal | last1 = Fong | first1 = YM | last2 = Marano | first2 = MA | last3 = Barber | first3 = A | display-authors = etal | year = 1989 | title = Total parenteral nutrition and bowel rest modify the metabolic response to endotoxin in humans | journal = Ann Surg | volume = 210 | issue = | pages = 449–456 | pmid = 2508583 | pmc = 1357921 }}{{cite journal | last1 = Fong | first1 = YM | last2 = Marano | first2 = MA | last3 = Moldawer | first3 = LL | display-authors = etal | year = 1990 | title = The acute splanchnic and peripheral tissue metabolic response to endotoxin in humans | journal = J Clin Invest | volume = 85 | issue = | pages = 1896–1904 | pmid = 2347917 | doi = 10.1172/JCI114651 | pmc = 296656 }} and the epidemiology of [suicide](/source/suicide).{{cite journal | last1 = Steljes | first1 = TP | last2 = Fullerton-Gleason | first2 = L | last3 = Kuhls | first3 = D | display-authors = etal | year = 2005 | title = Epidemiology of suicide and the impact on Western trauma centers | url = | journal = J Trauma | volume = 58 | issue = | pages = 772–777 | pmid = 15824654 }} He co-authored several books on surgery and trauma, including the well-known textbook ''Principles of Surgery'', which was first published in 1969 and is currently in its seventh edition. ==Awards and honors== In 1985, Shires was ranked the top academic surgeon in the USA by [Claude Organ](/source/Claude_Organ), then president of the [American College of Surgeons](/source/American_College_of_Surgeons). He was among the first to receive a MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) grant from the [NIH](/source/National_Institutes_of_Health)/[National Institute of General Medical Sciences](/source/National_Institute_of_General_Medical_Sciences) in 1986, for his work on saline solutions in shock. His awards include the Surgeon's Award for Service to Safety (1984), Curtis P. Artz Memorial Award of the [American Trauma Society](/source/American_Trauma_Society) (1984), Dr Rodman E. Sheen and Thomas G. Sheen Award (1985), Harvey Stuart Allen Distinguished Service Award of the [American Burn Association](/source/American_Burn_Association) (1988) and the Robert Danis Prize of the International Surgical Society (1993). He served as president of the [American Surgical Association](/source/American_Surgical_Association) (1979–80), [American College of Surgeons](/source/American_College_of_Surgeons) (1981–82), the US chapter of the [International Surgical Society](/source/International_Surgical_Society) (1984–85) and the [James IV Association of Surgeons](/source/James_IV_Association_of_Surgeons) (1987–91). Shires was the editor-in-chief of the ''[Journal of the American College of Surgeons](/source/Journal_of_the_American_College_of_Surgeons)'' (1982–92) and editor of ''[Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics](/source/Surgery%2C_Gynecology_and_Obstetrics)'' (1982–94). He also served on the editorial boards of many medical and surgical journals, including ''[Annals of Surgery](/source/Annals_of_Surgery)'', ''[Annual Review of Medicine](/source/Annual_Review_of_Medicine)'', ''[Archives of Surgery](/source/Archives_of_Surgery)'', ''[American Journal of Surgery](/source/American_Journal_of_Surgery)'', ''[Journal of Clinical Surgery](/source/Journal_of_Clinical_Surgery)'' and ''[Journal of Trauma](/source/Journal_of_Trauma)''.[http://www.medicine.nevada.edu/dept/Surgery/fshires.html University of Nevada School of Medicine: Curriculum Vitae: G. Tom Shires, M.D.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080219214215/http://www.medicine.nevada.edu/dept/Surgery/fshires.html |date=2008-02-19 }} (accessed 4 February 2008) Shires was inducted into the Woodrow Wilson High School Hall of Fame in 1989 when it was created as part of the celebration of the school's 60th Anniversary. ==Selected publications== ===Books=== *Shires GT, Carrico CJ, Canizaro PC. ''Shock'' (''Major Problems in Clinical Surgery'', Vol. 13) (Saunders, 1973) ({{ISBN|0721682502}}) *Shires GT, ed. ''Shock and Related Problems'' (Churchill Livingstone; 1984) ({{ISBN|0443029016}}) *Shires GT. ''Principles of Trauma Care'', 3rd edn (McGraw-Hill; 1984) ({{ISBN|0070569177}}) *Davis JM, Shires GT, eds. ''Host Defenses in Trauma and Surgery'' (Raven Press; 1986) ({{ISBN|0881672343}}) *Shires GT, ed. ''Fluids, Electrolytes, and Acid Bases'' (Churchill Livingstone; 1988) ({{ISBN|0443085854}}) *Davis JM, Shires GT, eds. ''Principles and Management of Surgical Infections'' (Lippincott; 1991) ({{ISBN|0397507356}}) *Barie PS, Shires GT, eds. ''Surgical Intensive Care'' (Little, Brown; 1993) ({{ISBN|0316080837}}) *Schwartz SI, Spencer FC, Galloway AC, Shires TG, Daly JM, Fischer JE. ''Principles of Surgery'', 7th edn (McGraw-Hill; 1999) ({{ISBN|0070542562}}) ===Research articles=== * {{cite journal | pmid = 13912108 | volume=84 | title=Postoperative salt tolerance | date=June 1962 | journal=Arch Surg | pages=703–6 | last1 = Shires | first1 = T | last2 = Jackson | first2 = DE}} * {{cite journal | pmid = 4627396 | volume=176 | title=Alterations in cellular membrane function during hemorrhagic shock in primates | pmc=1355392 | date=September 1972 | journal=Ann. Surg. | pages=288–95 | last1 = Shires | first1 = GT | last2 = Cunningham | first2 = JN | last3 = Backer | first3 = CR | display-authors = etal}} * {{cite journal | pmid = 6135914 | volume=2 | title=Grafting of burn patients with allografts of cultured epidermal cells | date=August 1983 | journal=Lancet | pages=428–30 | last1 = Hefton | first1 = JM | last2 = Madden | first2 = MR | last3 = Finkelstein | first3 = JL | last4 = Shires | first4 = GT}} * {{cite journal | pmid = 3767483 | volume=204 | title=Improved burn center survival of patients with toxic epidermal necrolysis managed without corticosteroids | pmc=1251332 | date=November 1986 | journal=Ann. Surg. | pages=503–12 | last1 = Halebian | first1 = PH | last2 = Corder | first2 = VJ | last3 = Madden | first3 = MR | last4 = Finklestein | first4 = JL | last5 = Shires | first5 = GT}} * {{cite journal | pmid = 2508583 | volume=210 | title=Total parenteral nutrition and bowel rest modify the metabolic response to endotoxin in humans | pmc=1357921 | date=October 1989 | journal=Ann. Surg. | pages=449–56; discussion 456–7 | last1 = Fong | first1 = YM | last2 = Marano | first2 = MA | last3 = Barber | first3 = A | display-authors = etal}} * {{cite journal | pmid = 2347917 | doi=10.1172/JCI114651 | volume=85 | title=The acute splanchnic and peripheral tissue metabolic response to endotoxin in humans | pmc=296656 | date=June 1990 | journal=J. Clin. Invest. | pages=1896–904 | last1 = Fong | first1 = YM | last2 = Marano | first2 = MA | last3 = Moldawer | first3 = LL | display-authors = etal}} ==References== {{Reflist|2}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Shires, Tom}} Category:1925 births Category:2007 deaths Category:American surgeons Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni Category:University of Texas at Austin faculty Category:University of Washington faculty Category:Cornell University faculty Category:Deaths from cancer in Nevada Category:Deaths from gastrointestinal cancer Category:Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center faculty Category:University of Nevada, Las Vegas faculty Category:People associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy Category:American Surgical Association members Category:Members of the National Academy of Medicine Category:Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas) alumni --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tom Shires](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Shires) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Shires?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.