Biography
1914-2004
Howard Frank was born in New York City in 1914. His father, a hospital administrator, had three sons. Each became an academic physician. Howard received his Bachelor of Arts degree at Columbia College and his medical degree at New York University. He then entered Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital for surgical training. Four years later, he was appointed to the position of Chief Resident.
Between 1942 and 1945 Dr. Frank immersed himself in the research laboratory investigating the pathophysiology and treatment of traumatic shock, which occurred in soldiers with battlefield injury and often resulted in kidney failure. Dr. Frank’s team developed the technique of peritoneal irrigation to treat renal failure. First used in a Beth Israel Hospital patient in 1946, the method is now termed peritoneal dialysis and is still practiced.
Dr. Frank then became interested in thoracic surgery and was among the early recipients of Board Certification (1950), yet he maintained an eclectic interest in challenging problems encountered in general surgery.
Between 1959 and 1996, Dr. Frank authored 128 publications, which included all cause surgical shock states, vascular diseases encompassing most vascular beds, revascularization techniques, transplant surgery, minimally invasive techniques to diagnose and localize breast cancer, peritoneal dialysis, pulmonary physiology, pulmonary pathology and the management of heart arrhythmia with electrical stimulation.
Dr. Frank joined forces with Paul Zoll, MD during the transition from electrically stimulating the hearts of animal models to applying pacing techniques to the hearts of humans. They became an inseparable team in the operating room.
As pacemaker technology advanced from epicardial to endocardial lead placement, their collaboration continued in the pacemaker laboratory. Dr. Zoll was quoted in reference to Dr. Frank as, “one of the best thoracic surgeons around. His skill, ingenuity and surgical background have enabled him to take many innovative steps in the surgical application of the pacemaker”.
Howard Frank was described as a pioneer in the use of peritoneal dialysis, the mechanical heart/lung and the cardiac pacemaker. Arguably, he was best recognized for his contributions in the last category, for Dr. Frank was the world’s second surgeon to implant a fully self-contained permanent pacemaker in man. His scientific interest in the field spanned over forty years during which he developed implantation techniques and methods to manage the early era’s common complication of electrode failure and infection. Through his efforts, knowledge continued to advance in surgical techniques, electrode design and transthoracic electrical stimulation of the heart.
This complete physician received recognition as a teacher, role model, mentor, surgeon, research investigator, a clinician who resonated with his patients and as a doctor who advanced the boundaries of scientific knowledge.
Dr. Frank was appointed Clinical Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School in 1972. He was a member of many professional societies and served on many committees. They included Dr. Frank’s broad areas of interest such as general, thoracic, vascular and transplant surgery as well as cancer, experimental biology and medicine, biomedical engineering, the advancement of medical instrumentation and the Harvard Medical School Awards and Honors Committee.
Because of the critical nature of his patient’s illnesses, Dr. Frank resided only minutes from the hospital. During quiet moments, he relaxed at home with his family, his prize-winning Afghan hounds and the gardens which he tended with care and devotion. He died on June 27, 2004.
- Stafford Cohen, MD
Interview Excerpt
Involvement in the early days of implantable cardiac pacemakers
(13:02 sec.; Windows Media Audio)
Excerpted from this interview:
Interviewer: Kirk Jeffrey, PhD
Date: October 16, 1996
Place: Boston, MA
Download the free Windows Media Player.
