March 30, 2007

Honoring a MassGeneral Hospital for Children legend

Revolutionary and world-famous surgeon William Hardy Hendren III, MD, the MGH's former chief of Pediatric Surgery, was honored March 8 with the dedication of the W. Hardy Hendren III, MD, Conference Room, located on the eleventh floor of the Warren Building. At the reception, guests joined speakers David F. Torchiana, MD, chair and chief executive officer of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization; Joseph P. Vacanti, MD, chief of Pediatric Surgery; Patricia K. Donahoe, MD, former chief of Pediatric Surgery; and Andrew L. Warshaw, MD, MGH surgeon-in-chief.

Hendren came to the MGH in 1950 as a medical student and completed his surgery training under Edward D. Churchill, MD, former MGH chief of Surgery. He was appointed the MGH's inaugural chief of Pediatric Surgery in 1960 and forged numerous groundbreaking surgical advances at the MGH until 1982. Today, Hendren remains on staff at the MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) as an honorary surgeon.

Torchiana, Warshaw and Donahoe each gave personal remarks about Hendren's perseverance and dedication to his patients. Vacanti thanked Hendren for his pioneering work with the MGHfC's Surgery Department and announced that the first book to be shelved in the new conference room will be The Work of Human Hands by G. Wayne Miller, which focuses on Hendren and the life-saving procedures he devised during his career.

The Hendren Conference Room is a contemporary meeting space equipped with teleconferencing capabilities for staff members of Pediatric Surgery and the MGHfC. Hendren thanked his guests for the honor, saying that he regarded the MGH as home. He added that he felt honored to have had the privilege to work with many special individuals and create numerous lasting friendships during his career at the MGHfC.