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Dr. Rudolph Matas was born in Bonnet Carre,
Louisiana, a short distance from New Orleans, on September 12, 1860. His
parents, natives of Spain, returned to that country while Rudolph was yet very
young. In 1867, the family came again to the United States where his father,
also a physician, found his work
necessitating moves from New Orleans to Texas to Mexico, and then back to New
Orleans. In the latter city, young Matas entered, in 1877, the Medical School
of the University of Louisiana, now Tulane University, receiving his M.D. in
1880 at the age of 19.
Dr. Matas' life remained at all times intimately associated with
Tulane. He taught in the University Medical School for 42 years and valued no
title more than "Professor" and "Professor Emeritus".
Dr. Matas was a surgical giant. In a short sketch such as this it is
impossible to detail all his accomplishments, he ranged too widely. Although
many contributed to the story of vascular surgery, Matas put it on the map on a
solid foundation. His writings . on the subject have frequently led the
uninformed to think of him only in this area. His bibliography of more than 600
titles on a wide variety of subjects reveals no such narrow interests. His
devotion to the field of thoracic surgery brought about his election, in 1919,
as third President of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery.
Besides repairing aneurisms, he had used banding, ligation and wiring
with electrolysis. His activities on the venous side of the circulation were of
a similar calibre. Thromboembolism received intense consideration. In
connection with venous disease and edema, he did the first Kondoleon operation
for elephantiasis in the U.S. He was among the first to use infusions, gastric
drainage and local, regional and spinal anesthesia. He was a pioneer in making
thoracic surgery safe through his work on intralaryngeal insufflation.
With all of his accomplishments, one consideration was always uppermost
in his mind: the welfare of each patient. This impelled him to engage in predominantly
clinical surgery. He was deeply respected by all his students and associates.
Those who knew him well, idolized him. Such a doctor could do nothing else but
leave his estate to medicine, the service to which he had devoted most of the
97 years of his life.
Dr. Matas died on September 23, 1957, at the age of 97, a loss to the
world of one of its most eminent pioneer thoracic and vascular surgeons.
Dr. Rudolph Matas
