Larchmont Chronicle: Local Surgeon Dr. Gordon Carves Out Role a in Medical History
The Larchmont Chronicle recently interviewed Leo Gordon, MD, an affiliate faculty member in the History of Medicine Program at Cedars-Sinai, about his decades-long career as a general surgeon and his enduring interest in how the medicine of the past informs future care.
Gordon hosts lectures at the medical center and within the community, covering everything from the ailments of past presidents to the role of American medicine in the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II.
He told the Larchmont Chronicle that history of medicine topics generate broad interest because medicine touches everyone’s life, regardless of their background or their lived experience.
“Everybody is a patient,” Gordon said. “It’s the great common human bond. Whether you’re sleeping under the freeway or you’re the chairman of Citibank, everyone is a patient.”
Gordon, a senior consultant in clinical surgery with the Surgery Group of Los Angeles, told the Larchmont Chronicle his “Miracles on the Beach—The Medicine of D-Day” presentation covers how a chain of evacuation was implemented during World War II to help provide more efficient treatment for the wounded. The war also fostered other medical advances, such as the mass production of penicillin, which greatly improved survival on the battlefield and beyond.
Gordon told the Larchmont Chronicle he enjoys writing and is working on a colorful and “lighthearted” book about his surgical career.
“At the end of every joke, somebody gets hurt,” he said with amusement. “That’s why it’s called a punchline.”
Click here to read the complete article from the Larchmont Chronicle.