The History of Surgery in Massachusetts

Thomas Carlyle noted that “The history of the world is but the biography of great men.” 1 The history of surgery in Massachusetts is full of great men who have made enormous contributions to the art and the science of surgery. I will concentrate for the most part on the century just past, and on the surgeons, mostly from Massachusetts but some from the other New England states, who have made those contributions and provided leadership and vision to the New England Surgical Society (NESS).