Edward Boyce Tuohy

Edward Boyce Tuohy (1908 – 1959) was an American anaesthesiologist.

Best known for his contribution to developing continuous epidural anaesthesia through the introduction of the needle to which he gives his name, the Tuohy Needle

Controversy exists over whether Ralph L Huber was in fact the original inventor of the now ‘Tuohy needle’ and was never properly referenced in Tuohy’s original work.

Nonetheless, it was Tuohy that developed the use the Huber point for introduction of a catheter into the epidural space and his contribution to the development of continuous spinal epidural anesthesia cannot be disputed.

Biography

Born 17 March 1908 Duluth, Minnesota
1929 – Bachelor of Science degree, University of Minnesota
1933 – Medical degree, University of Pennsylvania
1933 – Intern at the Mayo clinic in internal medicine.
1935 – Developed a keen interest in anesthesiology
1936 – First physician in the USA to receive a Master of Science degree in Anesthesiology
WW II – Served in the US Army Medical Corps. Then returned to the Mayo clinic
1947 – Head of anesthesiology department, Georgetown Medical Centre, Washington DC
1947 – President of the American Society of Anesthesiologists
1951 – Professor of anesthesiology at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles
Died 2 February 1959 following a cerebrovascular accident in San Marino, Los Angeles

Medical Eponyms

Tuohy Needle – designed in 1944, original for continuous spinal anaesthesia

Controversies

The Tuohy needle was designed for use in continuous spinal anesthesia since and was first popularized in 1945. In Tuohy’s original work, in 1945, he describes a 15-gauge needle with ‘Huber point’ but he makes no reference to origin of the ‘Huber point’
The term, however may be a misnomer with Ralph L. Huber (1890-1953), a Seattle dentist being the original inventor of the needle. In 1946, he applied for a patent on a needle with a ‘transversely curved wall…end portion’. Huber made many of his inventions available to the US Army during the war, including the Huber point which was adopted by the Army in 1942 and it is possible that Tuohy first encountered the Huber point during his time in the US Army.

Major Publications

Tuohy EB. Continuous Spinal Anaesthesia: A new method utilizing a ureteral catheter. Surg clin North AM 1945;25:834-840 [JAMA. 1945;128(4):262-264.]
Tuohy EB. Continuous Spinal Anesthesia: Its usefulness and technic involved. Anesthesiology 1944;5:142-148
Tuohy EB. Setting up an anesthesiology department. Hosp Prog. 1948 Aug;29(8):285-7 [PMID 18873548]
Tuohy EB, Guenther TA, Grabill FJ. Continuous spinal anesthesia. Evaluation and chronological survey–Ten years. Surg Clin North Am. 1950 Dec;30(6):1797-1809. [PMID 14787892]
Tuohy EB. Anesthesiology and its practical adaptation into general medicine and surgery. Ariz Med. 1952 Feb;9(2):19-24. [PMID 14904286]
Tuohy EB. An outline of the prevention and treatment of cardiac arrest. Instr Course Lect. 1955;12:261-7. [PMID 13345472]

References

Obituary: Edward Boyce Tuohy. 1908-1959. Med Ann Dist Columbia. 1959 Apr;28(4):240-1. [PMID 13643109]
Martini JA, Bacon DR, Vasdev GM. Edward Tuohy: the man, his needle, and its place in obstetric analgesia. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2002 Sep-Oct;27(5):520-3. [PMID 12373704]
Clarke RB. The Origination of Common Eponyms Used in Anesthesia. Anesthesiology 9 1985, Vol.63, 338 [Full Text]
Lubisich JW. Ralph L. Huber, DMD: forgotten inventor of the “Tuohy” needle. J Hist Dent. 2004 Jul;52(2):75-9. [PMID 15293720]
Frölich MA, Caton D. Pioneers in epidural needle design. Anesth Analg. 2001 Jul;93(1):215-20. [PMID 11429369]
Giuca MS, Desai SP. Eponyms in the operating room: careers of five American physicians. Bull Anesth Hist. 2013 Oct;31(2):32-5, 39. [PMID 24195165] [Full Text]
Martini JA, Bacon DR, Vasdev GM. Edward Tuohy: The man, his needle, and its place in obstetric analgesia. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2002 Sep-Oct;27(5):520-3. [PMID 12373704]