Farewell, Sam Delgado

Excerpt

Despite changes in healthcare, developing technology, and the exponential growth of clinical care at Hospital for Special Surgery, the one constant for the last 48 years has been Sam Delgado (Fig. 1). From a journey that started nearly a half century ago, Sam propelled his way to being this institution’s most influential scrub technician. Sam came to Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) after spending time in the US Navy as a corpsman. After arriving, he quickly moved his way up by first working in the hospital wards and eventually being reassigned to the operating room. Present for the first hip arthroplasty performed at HSS by Dr. Phillip Wilson, Jr., in 1967 [1], his cumulative experience has truly been unmatched. It is estimated that Sam assisted in over 40,000 joint replacement cases during his career. He has been an educator for generations of HSS residents and fellows, and his innovations have impacted the way joint replacement surgery has been performed throughout the world. Undoubtedly, his title underestimates the magnitude of his contributions to the HSS community.

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