USU Dean Eric Elster Named Distinguished Member of American College of Surgeons Excelsior Surgical Society

Newswise — Bethesda, Md. – Dr. Eric Elster, professor and dean of the Uniformed Services University’s F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, has been named a Distinguished Member of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Excelsior Surgical Society, in recognition of his pioneering leadership and remarkable contributions to military surgical readiness.

The Society provides military surgeons a home within the largest surgical organization in the world, preserving lessons learned and improving care. Distinguished members are nominated by the Society and approved by the Excelsior Executive Council. They are physicians and scientists who have gained professional prominence by contributing to military surgical readiness.

The Excelsior Surgical Society was originally founded as a club by renowned Army surgeons including Dr. Edward Churchill and Dr. Michael DeBakey, who wanted to establish an organization for military surgeons who had served in the Mediterranean during World War II. The group is named for the Excelsior Hotel in Rome, then the headquarters for Army operations in Italy, and site of the club’s first meeting in 1945. The original Excelsior Surgical Club held annual meetings to discuss advances in surgical research and innovation, and to form and strengthen connections in the surgical community. They also established an annual lectureship in honor of Dr. Churchill. As the founding and early members of the Club retired and eventually passed away, the Club became less active and finally ceased its annual meetings. 

During the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, collaboration among military surgeons became increasingly important, and the Services held regular gatherings of surgeons to support networking and idea sharing. Following a conversation with now-retired former DHA Director Navy Vice Adm. (Dr.) Raquel Bono, Elster worked with a team to integrate the various military surgical groups and gatherings, and to re-establish the Excelsior Surgical Society, leveraging the (then) recently established Military Health System Strategic Partnership with the American College of Surgeons (MHSSPACS) with the support of the Partnership’s medical director, Dr. Peggy Knudson, and former ACS Director Dr. David Hoyt. 

In the 10 years since its re-establishment, Elster explained, the Excelsior Surgical Society has become the home of military surgery, retaining the Club’s initial focus on the art and science of surgery in combat. It has also become both the voice of military surgeons and the focal point for membership, connection, and development in the profession, Elster added.

“It’s a privilege to be associated with the modern Excelsior Surgical Society and an honor to be connected with its legacy,” Elster said. “I’m delighted to be counted among the eminent surgeons, including Dr. Norman Rich and Dr. Jonathan Woodson, selected as Distinguished Members of the Excelsior Surgical Society, and I look forward to many more years of service to the Society and to military medicine.” 

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About the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences: The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, founded by an act of Congress in 1972, is the nation’s federal health sciences university and the academic heart of the Military Health System. USU students are primarily active-duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service who receive specialized education in tropical and infectious diseases, TBI and PTSD, disaster response and humanitarian assistance, global health, and acute trauma care. USU also has graduate programs in oral biology, biomedical sciences and public health committed to excellence in research. The University's research program covers a wide range of areas important to both the military and public health. For more information about USU and its programs, visit www.usuhs.edu.