A Founding Father of Orthopedic Surgery in the United States
We all know that the Sayre family name is integral to the history of Madison. We know that the house built on Ridgedale in 1745 by Daniel Sayre was host to General “Mad” Anthony Wayne during the Revolutionary War. We know that Baxter Sayre was a leader in the anti-slavery movement and helped many runaway slaves along the Underground Railroad on their journeys north. But what you may not know is that another member of the Sayre family, Dr. Lewis Albert Sayre, was one of founding fathers of orthopedic surgery in the United States and his record of accomplishment is nothing short of astounding.
Dr. Lewis Sayre was born in 1820 directly across the street from Sayre House in Madison. He was the Grandson of Ephraim Sayre, the Revolutionary War quartermaster. He atteded Madison Academy and Wentage Seminary at Deckertown, N.J. In 1839 he graduated from Transylvania College in Lexington, Kentucky and then traveled to New York City to study medicine under Dr. David Green. In 1843 he earned a degree of doctor of medicine from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York and was appointed assistant to the professor of surgery at the College. In 1853 he was appointed surgeon at Bellevue Hospital and later at Charity Hospital. In 1861 he was one of the founders of Bellvue Hospital Medical College and became one of their first faculty members as professor of orthopedic surgery.
In the field of medicine in the 19th century, Dr. Sayre was a progressive and innovative thinker and became world famous for his writings and treatment of spinal disorders. Among other things he introduced the method of suspending patients followed by wrapping the body to correct spine distortions. Sayre also perfected the use of the plaster of Paris jacket for the treatment of spinal disease. He was one of the first surgeons to successfully remove bones from diseased hips. He was ahead of his time when he wrote and illustrated extensively on turberculous arthritis of the hip. He performed the first operation to cure hip joint ankylosis (a stiffness of a joint due to abnormal adhesion and rigidity of the bones which may be the result of injury or disease). And seemingly a bit out of his field, he is credited with discovering that cholera was a contagious disease and pioneered the use of steam inhalation for combating croup.
Dr. Sayre built a formidable record in the area of public health, serving as Resident Physician for the Commissioner of Public Health and Charities of New York City. He was a strong supporter of compulsory vaccination, quarantine for cholera, sanitary inspection of tenement houses, and improved sewage disposal facilities. He was a charter member of the American Medical Association and served as its president between 1880 and 1881.
On several occasions he traveled to Europe to treat patients. On one such trip he treated the son of King Charles XV of Sweden. The royal family was so impressed and grateful for their son’s treatment that they bestowed knighthood on Dr. Sayre.
Dr. Sayre had one daughter and three sons with his wife Elizabeth Ann Hall, a noted painter. Each of his sons followed him in the practice or orthoppedic surgery. Sayre’s daughter, Mary Hall, became a talented linguist. Dr. Lewis A. Sayre died in 1900 at the age of 80 in New York City and was buried in Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum in Manhattan.
