The Classic

Harrison L. McLaughlin (1906–1970) was born in Cumberland, Ontario, Canada, where his father was a general practitioner. He was educated in Ottawa, receiving his medical degree from Queen's University Medical College in 1933. Twenty eight years after his graduation he returned to give the Commencement Address and receive an honorary LL.D. degree from his alma mater. After interning in the Ottawa Civic Hospital he moved to New York for further training. He became a resident on the Fracture Service of the Presbyterian Hospital directed by William Darrach and Clay Ray Murray. After finishing his residency he stayed on the faculty, becoming chief of the Fracture Service after the death of Clay Ray Murray, and clinical professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. He played an important role as chairman of the Trauma Committee of the American College of Surgeons (1959–1964) and the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, of which he became president in 1961. Although technically he had not been trained as an orthopaedic surgeon, his work in the areas of fractures and trauma was recognized by his election as an honorary fellow of the American Orthopaedic Association. In 1964 he was presented with the Surgeon's Award for Distinguished Service to Safety by the National Safety Council, which camed the following citation. “An expert surgeon respected by his colleagues, a teacher revered by his students, and a gentleman loved by all who knew him.” The management of shoulder problems was a major interest of Dr. McLaughlin. He wrote and lectured on the subject extensively. The following paper, greatly condensed, describes his early experience with rotator cuff tears. Leonard F. Peltier, MD. PhD