b
y Terry W. Barnes, CCP
This new year marks the retirement of two more of Wisconsin's perfusion pioneers, Earl
Weirauch of Racine and Bob Briggs of LaCrosse.
Earl got his first exposure to the medical field as a Hospital Corpsman in the US Navy
from 1957-1960. He was also trained as an Operating Room Technician. From 1963-1968 he
worked at Allen Bradley Medical Science Lab performing an array of tasks. "It wasn't
until July,1968 that I started my perfusion training. Ace Adams, one of the co-founders of
AmSect, was my mentor. I also worked with John Schaffle, Jim Wirth and Jerry Puck, who is
now deceased. There are many perfusionists working around the country which I helped to
train into perfusion. It was all on-the-job training as there were no schools at that
time."
Earl's first job was with Cardiovascular Associates in 1968. In 1989 he went to Racine as
a satellite of that program. "In July of 1992, Dr. Edgerton formed his own
corporation, Great Lakes Cardiothoracic Surgery, and it was here that I worked until
September,1998 when Cardiovascular Surgery Associates purchased the company. Shortly
thereafter I retired having come full circle back to the organization with which I had
started."
"I feel privileged to have worked with many of the pioneers of the field. Among them
Doctors Lepley, Johnson, Flemma, Tector, Auer, Mullen, Kleinman, Werner, Edgerton, Mudge
and Stone." One of Earl's finest memories in the field was his involvement in the
first heart transplant performed in Wisconsin. "I also recall having met with Dr.
Christian Barnard as he observed surgery in one of our suites in Milwaukee."
In November of 1998, Earl moved to Kiel, WI across from the Sheboygen River. "I hope
to do a lot of fishing and spend time with my Newfoundland and Brittany Spaniel dogs. Most
of all, now that I am not doing cases or taking call, I plan to spend a lot of time with
my wife, children and grandchildren, and make up for missed birthdays, anniversaries and
holidays."
Bob Briggs has never strayed far from home. He was born right here in LaCrosse and plans
to stay here close to family in his retirement as well.
It was while completing his degree in secondary education at the University of
Wisconsin-LaCrosse that Bob got his first taste of the medical field. He was working as a
general orderly for Lutheran Hospital when he changed his mind and transferred to the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. Bob became one of three men to be the first males ever
admitted to the BSN program in Madison. He graduated in 1965 and promptly returned to
LaCrosse to work for the Gundersen Clinic and Lutheran Hospital which was starting up a
new heart program. "I was there for technical help mostly but before long it was
determined that a perfusionist would be needed. An animal lab was established and after
many dogs, calves and trips to other open-heart centers, I became an OJT 'pump
tech'."
"For the first fifteen years of growth, the perfusionist was responsible for renal
dialysis, the cath lab, pacemakers, and GXT's as well as surgery. At about 1980, the
program was busy enough that the perfusionist would have to devote his time only to the
O.R. From our modest beginnings of only one surgery in 1965 to more than 600 per year
currently, it's been rewarding to help start and organize a successful heart
program."
"I do remember a story from our earlier days. We weren't having much luck with our
calves in the animal lab, they were all dying. As it turned out, the 100-125 pound
holstein calves which we were using were newborns and their tissue was just like jelly;
hard to work with. One of the general surgeons thought that that was an awful lot of veal
going to waste, so he had the meat cut up and frozen. One day, as his wife was cooking one
of the roasts, an awful smell permeated the house which made everyone sick. As it turned
out, the fluothane used for anesthesia had locked in the frozen meat and came out when
heated. Needless to say, no more meat was processed."
