Edward Tuohy

Biography

• Born on March 17, 1908 in Duluth, Minnesota
• 1929 – Bachelor of Science degree, University of Minnesota
• 1932– Medical degree, University of Pennsylvania
• 1933 – Intern at the Mayo clinic in internal medicine.
• 1935 – M.S. in Anesthesia, University of Minnesota – ‘A comparative study of the physiological activity of cobefrin and epinephrine‘; First physician in the USA to receive a Master of Science degree in Anesthesiology; consultant anaesthetist at the Mayo clinic
• WW II – Served in the US Army Medical Corps in Washington DC and Battle Creek, then returned to the Mayo clinic
• 1947 – Professor of anaesthesiology, Georgetown University School of Medicine; President of the American Society of Anesthesiologists
• 1951 – Professor of anesthesiology at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles
• Died on February 2, 1959 following a cerebrovascular accident in San Marino, Los Angeles

Medical Eponyms

Tuohy Needle (1944)

Hypodermic needle (needle which enters the skin) designed in 1944, original for continuous spinal anaesthesia

Non-coring type needle with a transversely curved wall and side hole giving it a long, sharp, curved tip. Differs from a typical needle where the opening of the needle is at the tip of the needle itself. Has a directional tip which allows a catheter to be directed as it exits the needle, increasing the accuracy of it’s placement.

Tuohy introduced a ureteral catheter down a 15-gauge needle to administer epidural anaesthesia

In an effort to obviate the difficulty of the malleable needle becoming displaced, a new method of performing continuous spinal anesthesia was devised utilizing a ureteral catheter…It was my feeling that a number 4 ureteral catheter would be less traumatic to tissues than a needle (malleable) when it is left in position for the duration of an operation, and if the catheter was satisfactorily introduced into the subarachnoid space it would not become dislodged as easily as a needle. The hazard of breakage of the catheter during any portion of the procedure did not appear to be as great as that with a needle, because of the flexibility and mobility of the catheter.

Tuohy 1945

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 Lee Huber (1889-1953), 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. A comparative study of the physiological activity of cobefrin and epinephrine. MS thesis, 1935
• Tuohy EB. Local anaesthesia. 1939
• Tuohy EB. Continuous Spinal Anesthesia: Its usefulness and technic involved. Anesthesiology 1944;5:142-148
• Tuohy EB. Continuous Spinal Anaesthesia: A new method utilizing a ureteral catheter. Surg clin North AM 1945;25:834-840
• Tuohy EB. Setting up an anesthesiology department. Hosp Prog. 1948 Aug;29(8):285-7
• 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.
• Tuohy EB. Anesthesiology and its practical adaptation into general medicine and surgery. Ariz Med. 1952 Feb;9(2):19-24.
• Tuohy EB. An outline of the prevention and treatment of cardiac arrest. Instr Course Lect. 1955;12:261-7.

References

Biography

• Obituary: Edward Boyce Tuohy. 1908-1959. Med Ann Dist Columbia. 1959 Apr;28(4):240-1.
• 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.
• Baskett TF. Tuohy, Edward Boyce (1908–1959). In: Eponyms and Names in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 3e. 2019: 431-432
• Bibliography. Tuohy, Edward Boyce. WorldCat Identities

Eponymous terms

• Clarke RB. The Origination of Common Eponyms Used in Anesthesia. Anesthesiology 1985; 63: 338
• Frölich MA, Caton D. Pioneers in epidural needle design. Anesth Analg. 2001; 93(1): 215-20.
• Lubisich JW. Ralph L. Huber, DMD: forgotten inventor of the “Tuohy” needle. J Hist Dent. 2004 Jul;52(2):75-9.
• Giuca MS, Desai SP. Eponyms in the operating room: careers of five American physicians. Bull Anesth Hist. 2013 Oct;31(2):32-5, 39.

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