Frank Lahey (physician)

Frank Howard Lahey MD (June 1, 1880, Haverhill, Massachusetts – June 17, 1953, Boston, Massachusetts), was a physician who founded the Lahey Clinic in Boston in 1923. Dr. Lahey was nationally known in the U.S. medical profession, not only as a world-renowned surgeon, but also as a teacher of medicine, and a medical administrator.

"Usually referred to as the outstanding general surgeon in the world today, at times of crisis he was never known to lose either his head or his nerve," stated the Boston Globe in 1953. "First and foremost he never allowed himself or his assistants to forget they had a human life in their hands. Surely but for him, thousands would not be alive today."

Although he prided himself on being a general surgeon, Lahey was well known for his expertise in thyroid and esophageal surgery, and surgery for stomach cancer and colon cancer. The "two-stage surgery" that he pioneered, in which surgery was completed in two steps over a period of two to four days, greatly improved surgical outcomes. In fact, his method decreased the mortality rate following thyroid surgery from 1-in-5 to 1-in-140.

Like his father—who was a granite cutter by trade and eventually became a wealthy bridge contractor—Lahey built his career from humble beginnings.

Lahey attended high school in his hometown of Haverhill, Massachusetts, where he had his own newspaper route and worked at his father's firm. He then went on to attend Harvard Medical School, where he received a medical degree in 1904. After he served as intern and house surgeon at Long Island Hospital (1904-1905) and as a surgeon at Boston City Hospital (1905-1907), Lahey became resident surgeon of the Haymarket Relief Station (1908). He was on the surgical faculty of Harvard Medical School (1908-1909 and 1912-1915), and served as professor of surgery at Tufts University Medical School (1913-1917).

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