From left: Michael L. Marin, MD, FACS; Arthur H. Aufses, Jr., MD; Harriet Aufses; and Kenneth L. Davis, MD
Arthur H. Aufses, Jr., MD, one of Mount Sinai’s most respected physicians, celebrated his 90th birthday with nearly 250 colleagues, family, and friends on Monday, February 8, at the Harmonie Club in Manhattan.
Dr. Aufses served as Chair of the Department of Surgery for 22 years,retiring from that position in 1996, and he currently holds appointments as Professor of Surgery, and of Population Health Science and Policy, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He also is Chairman Emeritus of The Ruth J. & Maxwell Hauser and Harriet & Arthur H. Aufses, Jr., MD Department of Surgery.
Michael L. Marin, MD, FACS, left, presents the Dr. Abraham Jacobi Medallion to Arthur H. Aufses, Jr., MD.
“Dr. Aufses represents the highest standards in almost every way: a superior surgeon, an incredible clinician, a spectacular leader, a great chairman, and putting it all together, a role model for all of us,” Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mount Sinai Health System, told the guests.
“Dr. Aufses has touched many lives. He helped break down barriers for women and ethnic-minority surgeons, and his support has helped many residents and fellows become better physicians than they ever thought possible,” said Michael L. Marin, MD, FACS, The Jacobson Professor of Surgery, and Chairman, Department of Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Surgeon-in-Chief, Mount Sinai Health System.
A standing ovation for the honoree.
During his tenure as Chair, Dr. Aufses transformed the Department of Surgery by staying abreast of advances, such as the advent of laparoscopic surgery, and adapting to the rise of ambulatory surgery, as well as implementing a tremendous expansion of the transplant program to include the liver, pancreas, and heart. In 1988, he organized the surgical team that performed the first liver transplant in New York State. His major clinical and research interests are inflammatory bowel disease and surgical education, and he has published more than 235 papers and chapters in various journals and textbooks.
Dr. Aufses’ many awards include a Jacobi Medallion—named for Dr. Abraham Jacobi, an early Mount Sinai Medical Board President—and the highest award for distinguished achievement in medicine or extraordinary clinical and educational services within The Mount Sinai Hospital. At the celebration, Dr. Aufses was presented with the medallion Dr. Jacobi received at the Annual Dinner of the Associated Alumni of Mount Sinai Hospital, held in 1910 in honor of Dr. Jacobi’s 50 years of service.
All tickets to the birthday celebration benefited the newly established Arthur H. Aufses, Jr., MD Lectureship.