Newton Browder
Newton Clarence Browder (1893-1969) was an American physician
Primarily a general surgeon, Browder’s considerable enthusiasm and talents lay in orthopedics. For example, he was among the first to use the Johannson modification of the Smith-Petersen nail (which, with a hole through its centre could be inserted over a previously placed Kirschner guide wire)
Eponymously remembered for the Lund and Browder Chart estimating the total body surface area affected in the management of burns. First published in 1944 with Charles C Lund and was based on experience treating victims of the Cocoanut Grove fire on November 28, 1942
Biography
- Born on July 22, 1893 at Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
- 1920 – MD, Harvard Medical School
- Councilor of the Massachusetts Medical Society for 16 years and a trustee of the Monks Memorial Chapel at Boston City Hospital.
- 1942 – Following the Cocoanut Grove fire, United States’ most deadly nightclub disaster on November 28, 1942, Browder collaborated with Charles C. Lund in the treatment of the many burns at the Boston City Hospital and published an important paper presenting a new table and diagrams for the accurate estimation of burned areas both in children and in adults. His superhuman efforts led to the recovery of a patient having 60 per cent body burns, who subsequently received considerable publicity in the lay press. With this patient Dr. Browder proved beyond a doubt the occasional extreme value of pinpoint grafts – a lesson not yet learned by many surgeons.
- Died on February 2, 1969 at Dover, Strafford County, New Hampshire, USA
“Newt” was a most ingenuous and straightforward man with high ideals and an easygoing way. His sparkling sense of humor and natural friendliness some-times remained hidden in the conference room; yet the sincerity was there, and the ideas were there for the asking.
Medical Eponyms
Lund and Browder Chart (1942)
Major Publications
- Browder NC, Madoff I, Kirby FA, Glenn JW. Surgical repair of femoral hernia. Rev Gastroenterol. 1950 May;17(5):348-58.
- Taylor FH, Levenson SM, Davidson CS, Browder NC, Lund CC. Problems of protein nutrition in burned patients. Ann Surg. 1943 Aug;118(2):215-20.
- Lund CC, Browder NC. The estimation of areas of burns. Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics. 1944; 79(10:4): 352-358 [Lund and Browder Chart]
References
Biography
- Browder NC. Massachusetts Medical Society. New England Journal of Medicine, 1969; 280(15): 838–839.
- Newton C. Browder, MD. Boston City Hospital collection
Eponymous terms
- Murari A, Singh KN. Lund and Browder chart-modified versus original: a comparative study. Acute Crit Care. 2019 Nov;34(4):276-281.
- Carrougher GJ, Pham TN. Burn size estimation: A remarkable history with clinical practice implications. Burns Open. 2024; 8 (2): 47-52
Eponym
the person behind the name
