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 29/12/2002 13:46 | |
Dr. Paul C. Peters Sr.: Pioneering urologist worked to save
Kennedy's life in '63
12/28/2002
By MARK WROLSTAD / The Dallas Morning News
Dr. Paul C. Peters Sr., a pioneer of kidney transplantation
and a worldwide authority on urological injuries as well as
a witness to the death of a president, died Thursday,
December 26, in Dallas.
The longtime chairman of the urology department at the
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas,
and later its professor emeritus, was 74. The cause of
death was multiple organ failure, said his son, Dr. Paul
Peters Jr.
Before developing an international reputation as a gifted
teacher, he was thrust into a traumatic moment in American
history as part of the Dallas medical team that tried to
save the mortally wounded John F. Kennedy at Parkland
Hospital in 1963.
That role brought Dr. Peters attention, particularly late
in his career, in various forums where the JFK
assassination was examined or discussed. But his legacy was
as a mentor to many physicians and an innovator for
transplant and trauma patients, said Dr. John McConnell,
his successor at UT Southwestern.
"Simply said, Dr. Peters was one of the most prestigious
academic urologists of his generation," said Dr. McConnell,
who is now executive vice president for administration. "He
was world-renowned for his teaching abilities.
"His knowledge of urology was voluminous and really
photographic."
Dr. Peters was born in Kokomo, Ind., and earned a medical
degree at Indiana University in 1953. He was the head of
urology at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth from 1957
to 1963, when he became an assistant professor at what is
now UT Southwestern.
In 1964, he performed the first kidney transplant ever in
Texas, transferring a kidney between 10-year-old identical
twin girls.
"He was a very brave person," his son said. "He did that
transplant when no one else would even write their name on
the chart because they thought it was heresy.
"He saved so many people's lives."
Dr. Peters once said of that first transplant: "There was a
lot of pressure on me for it to go well, but it did work
well and I was very happy."
He made the remark in 1987 at ceremonies recognizing his
contributions toward the 1,000 kidney transplants performed
to that date in the Parkland/UT Southwestern program.
In the 1960s, Dr. Peters also performed Brazil's first
kidney transplant, his son said. He was UT Southwestern's
chief of urology from 1971 to 1993.
Dr. McConnell said Dr. Peters' techniques for caring for
transplant patients were surpassed by his extensive work on
kidney and bladder trauma, which placed him among the top
two or three authorities in the field.
He said his mentor was well-known for carrying an old set
of photographic slides documenting all his unusual cases
and questioning trainees during his presentations in the
manner of Socrates.
"He could be very strict and strong-willed, but he loved
his residents," Dr. McConnell said.
He recalled having a car accident about 20 years ago and
receiving offers of medical and financial help from Dr.
Peters.
"He would do things like that, and yet the next day he
would chew you out without hesitation," Dr. McConnell said
with a laugh.
For what?
"For not being perfect," the doctor said. "He had very high
standards."
In 1992, Dr. Peters participated in the first public
discussion among five physicians who worked on Kennedy in
the frantic minutes after he was shot.
Amid the controversy over how the bullets struck the
president, Dr. Peters and two others said the severity of
his head wounds made them mistakenly tell investigators
that the rear of the brain was exposed when it was actually
the upper part.
The doctors were so preoccupied that they didn't
concentrate on the forensics of the wounds, Dr. Peters
said.
He said the doctors debated at one point whether to open
Mr. Kennedy's chest and massage his heart but continued
external resuscitation. They kept working even though there
was no pulse.
"I said I thought maybe we would have to declare him dead
and we should look for Mrs. Kennedy," Dr. Peters said. "And
someone said, 'She's standing right beside you.'
"I give that as evidence that we were focused on what we
were doing to try to save the president and weren't too
much worried about what was going on around us. We did a
good job of resuscitation even by today's standards."
In 1997, Dr. Peters was quoted as saying that doctors
worked on the president "for about 35 minutes before we
declared him dead."
"I never saw him take a definite breath," he said.
Besides his oldest son, Dr. Peters' survivors include his
wife, Lois Peters of Dallas; another son, Dr. Steven Peters
of Paris, Texas; and daughters Debbie Peters of New York
and Dr. Bonnie Fergie of Corpus Christi.
A memorial service is scheduled at 11 a.m. Tuesday at
Highland Park United Methodist Church.
E-mail mwrolstad@dallasnews.com
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