Biography:Sally Abston

From HandWiki
Short description: American physician and scientist
Sally Abston
Born(1934-05-29)May 29, 1934
DiedAugust 27, 2008(2008-08-27) (aged 74)
EducationMedical degree (UTMB)
OccupationSurgeon
Known forBurn surgery
Medical career
ProfessionDoctor
FieldMedical field
InstitutionsUTMB, Shriners Burns Hospital
Sub-specialtiesBurn care
Notable worksGarment compression for burn treatment

Sally Abston (1934-2008) was an American surgeon and scientist. She is noted as the first woman surgical resident at the University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston (UTMB), where she also worked as part of the faculty.[1]

Biography

Abston was born in Refugio, Texas on 29 May 1934 to Charles Richard Abston and Susie Abston.[2] She grew up in Fort Worth and Houston.[3][2] At an early age, she already wanted to be a physician. After finishing her secondary education at Austin High School in 1952, she obtained a degree at the Rice University in 1956. She then pursued her medical degree from the UTMB. After graduating in 1962, she immediately joined UTMB as the first woman surgical resident and, later on, member of the faculty.[3] After her retirement in the field of medicine, she completed a substance abuse counselling programming at Galveston College.[2]

In Abston's honor, the Association of Women Surgeons Foundation established an award called The Dr. Sally Abston AWS Distinguished Member Award, recognizing her commitment to quality patient care and the welfare of medical students.[4][5]

Career

Abston taught at UTMB for 17 years and was also the director of its Blocker Burn Unit. She also worked for the Shriners Burns Hospital where she treated children. This hospital is noted for developing innovations covering burn care in children.[6] Abston is credited for developing garment compression for burn treatment that improved the appearance of scars.[2] She successfully demonstrated how to maintain body weight in children with serious burns through the consistent enteral feeding of milk.[6] In a study with two other doctors involving children treated for burn injury, she identified burns as a silent epidemic in the United States.[7]

Abston was also cited as the pioneer in Ketamine anesthesia in the treatment of pediatric burn as well as the use of early excision and grafting in burn care.[8]

Abston died on August 27, 2008 in Galveston due to kidney failure and hypertension.[2]

Publications

  • Abston, S., Heimburger, R., Marten, E., Larson, D., and Lewis, S. 1973. "Burned feet in children: Acute and responsive care." The American Journal of Surgery, 125(5).[9]
  • Abston, S. and Watson, L. 1976. Prevention of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage in 582 burned children. The American Journal of Surgery, 132(6).[10]
  • Abston, S., Minifee, P., Barrow, R., Desai, M., and, Hendon, D. 1989. "Improved myocardial oxygen utilization following propranolol infusion in adolescents with postburn hypermetabolism". Journal of Pediatric Surgery, 24(8).

References

  1. "About Sally Abston, MD". https://www.womensurgeons.org/page/AboutSallyAbston. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Abram, Lynwood (2008-08-30). "Sally Abston, former UTMB burn surgery professor" (in en-US). https://www.chron.com/news/houston-deaths/article/Sally-Abston-former-UTMB-burn-surgery-professor-1784733.php. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 "About Sally Abston, MD". https://www.womensurgeons.org/page/AboutSallyAbston. 
  4. "Koller recognized with women’s surgery honor" (in en). https://www.umc.edu/news/News_Articles/2021/09/Felicitas-Koller-Sally-Abston-Distinguished-Member-Award.html. 
  5. Sanfey, Hilary (April 4, 2019). "The Dr. Sally Abston AWS Distinguished Member Award". https://www.womensurgeons.org/news/445270/The-Dr.-Sally-Abston-AWS-Distinguished-Member-Award.htm. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 (in en) Proceedings, American Philosophical Society (vol. 147, no. 3, 2003). Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. 2003. pp. 219. ISBN 978-1-4223-7285-2. 
  7. "The Argus-Press - Google News Archive Search". https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1988&dat=19720724&id=Zg4oAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8gQGAAAAIBAJ&pg=866,2184878&hl=en. 
  8. Čapek, Karel D.; Culnan, Derek M.; Desai, Manubhai H.; Herndon, David N. (2018). "50 Years of Burn Care at Shriners Hospitals for Children, Galveston". Annals of plastic surgery 80 (3 Suppl 2): S90–S94. doi:10.1097/SAP.0000000000001376. ISSN 0148-7043. PMID 29461291. PMC 5825277. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5825277/. 
  9. Heimburger, Richard A.; Marten, Ernesto; Larson, Duane L.; Abston, Sally; Lewis, Stephen R. (1973-05-01). "Burned feet in children: Acute and reconstructive care" (in English). The American Journal of Surgery 125 (5): 575–579. doi:10.1016/0002-9610(73)90140-2. ISSN 0002-9610. PMID 4144651. https://www.americanjournalofsurgery.com/article/0002-9610(73)90140-2/abstract. 
  10. Watson, Larry C.; Abston, Sally (1976-12-01). "Prevention of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage in 582 burned children" (in English). The American Journal of Surgery 132 (6): 790–793. doi:10.1016/0002-9610(76)90460-8. ISSN 0002-9610. PMID 1087124. https://www.americanjournalofsurgery.com/article/0002-9610(76)90460-8/abstract.