Edward L. Seljeskog, M.D.

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Edward L Seljeskog, M.D.

Although I have been in Minnesota for just over three years, I love it here . When I think about why, the obvious answer is the people . And when I think about what is good about the people of Minnesota, Ed Seljeskog comes to mind immediately (Figure 1) . Ed was born in Minneapolis and has been here practically all of his life . Most of this time he has been at the University of Minnesota. He started as an undergraduate in 1956 and went on to obtain his M .D. and Ph .D. in Anatomy and Neurosurgery at "The U" in 1959 and 1971, respectively. Following three years of general surgical training, he completed his neurosurgical residency at Minnesota under Lyle French in 1968 . After spending some time in Oslo working with Dr . Kristian Kristiansen, he joined the faculty in Minnesota and established the first Neurosurgical Department at Minneapolis General Hospital, which later became the Hennepin County Medical Cent 1993 by Elsevict Science Publishing Co ., Ioc.

ter . After a few years he moved on a full-time basis to the University Hospital where he has developed an extraordinarily busy clinical practice . He climbed through the academic ranks to Full Professorship in 1977 ; he has also been Vice-Chairman of the Department since 1977 . Ed has had a very productive academic career which has resulted in 54 refereed publications, 21 chapters, and a co-editorship, with Shelley Chou, of a textbook on Spinal Deformities and Neurologic Dysfunction . His expertise in spinal disorders is internationally recognized, and his important papers on upper cervical spinal injuries are well known . He has had a parallel careerlong interest in neuroendocrine disorders starting with his doctoral thesis on the modulation of pituitary function by the limbic system . Major papers on the role of hypophysectomy in cancer treatment, the effect of prolactin in leukocyte function, and the role of scanning electron microscopy in the diagnosis of pituitary neoplasms have followed . His scholarship has led to more than 50 invited national and international presentations and to many visiting professorships in this country and abroad, as far as Thailand . As a clinical neurosurgeon, Ed Seljeskog is an outstanding example of what appears to be a vanishing breed in academic neurosurgical centers ; namely, a neurosurgeon who is comfortable handling just about any type of surgical encounter, be it a complicated AVM in a child, any kind of aneurysm, a massive craniopharyngioma, or the most complicated of spinal problems . Currently, because of the increased subspecialization within our department, Ed concentrates his surgical efforts on the spine, pediatrics, and pituitary and parapituitary surgery ; however, it is great to know that at any time he can be called on to give good advice or take over the management of any kind of complicated surgical problem . Ed's record of service to the University, the state medical community, and national neurosurgery is truly extraordinary . He has served and chaired innumerable committees at the Medical School and Hospital, and has served as President of the Minnesota Neurosurgical Society, as a member of the House of Delegates of the State Medical Association, and as a Director of the Hennepin County Medical Society . Nationally, he has served neurosurgery in leadership positions in several 0090-3019/93/$6 .00



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organizations . He has frequently served and eventually dominated, by force of his tenacity and commitment to get the job done and done well, several of the most important but least glamorous committees such as the Physician Reimbursement, the Health Policy and Reimbursement, the Central Judiciary, and the Graduate Education Committees of the American College of Surgeons ; the Physician Reimbursement, Professional Conduct and By-Laws Committees of the AANS, and the Manpower Committee of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies . He served on the Board of Directors and as Secretary of the AANS . Currently, Ed is the Regent representing Neurosurgery in the American College of Surgeons and he is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Regents . He is Secretary of the American Board of Neurological Surgery and serves as an Ex-Officio Member of the Residency Review Committee for Neurosurgery . The logical culmination of his years of dedicated service to neurosurgery is his recent selection as President-Elect of the AANS by its Nominating Committee . In parallel to his academic, clinical, and service duties, Ed has pursued a distinguished military career with the U .S . Naval Reserve, leading to the grade of Captain, USNR in 1983 . He volunteered and served on active duty during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 . Of all of Ed's personal attributes I have been most impressed, and have benefited the most, from his total devotion to the Department and to the education of its residents . Bill Peyton, Lyle French, and Shelley Chou have provided through the years the kind of academic leadership that has stimulated over half of Minnesota's neurosurgical residents into academic careers, including 14 current chairmanships in this country and abroad . However, I have learned that the glue that has provided uncompromising quality control in resident education through the years has been Ed Seljeskog . He has been a stout and unselfish supporter of everything I have

Heros

done that, in his perception, was for the good of the Department and the Training Program ; at the same time, not always so subtly, he has made sure that I would not do anything to hurt either. Because of Ed, my transition to this job has been as easy and painless as any young chairman could ever hope for . The steel of Ed's character seems to have been forged by the tough, long, and cold winters of Minnesota . He is uncompromising, demanding, sometimes gruff but always fair, caring, and giving much more than he receives . His capacity for work is legendary . With Ed actions always count more than words. He demands from residents and colleagues alike the same unflagging commitment to excellence that have marked his career . In this day, where compromise has become the stuff of everyday life, Ed remains inflexible in his standards for excellence in patient care, residents' education, and professional conduct . And yet, this man of iron still melts when his beloved wife Peggy injects her wonderful sense of humor into the most serious of conversations . And, yes . . . allows her to dress him in a Mickey Mouse suit for the Halloween party! And the residents call him-not to his face for sure-"Uncle Ed" because they know how much he cares for them and how much they can depend on him . And they remember the times that he has come to the hospital to cover for them and send them home so they can spend Christmas with their young families . It is difficult to know which of Ed Seljeskog's many continuing contributions to neurosurgery will be most enduring . My guess is that the impact he has had and hopefully will continue to have as a role model for several generations of neurosurgical residents will transcend all his many other important contributions .

ROBERTO C . HEROS Minneapolis, Minnesota