Our Esteemed Past President

We are disheartened to share the news that Southern Surgical fellow and world-renowned surgical scholar and leader, Josef E. Fischer, M.D., passed away on June 14, 2021, at home surrounded by family.

Dr. Fischer was raised in Brooklyn, NY, and graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1961. Following medical school, he completed his internship and surgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, subsequently spending time at the National Institutes of Health. After time spent as a Teaching Fellow in Surgery and Fellow of the American Cancer Society at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Fischer joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School in 1970. At this time, he also served as head of the Surgical Physiological Laboratory and Chief of Hyperalimentation Unit at Mass General Hospital where he is credited with the advancement for the standard of intravenous feeding. In 1978, Fischer became the Christian R. Holmes Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Cincinnati until 2001. He then returned to Boston as the Chair of the Department of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Throughout his impressive and fulfilling career, Dr. Fischer published hundreds of journal articles, edited 21 books, including the Mastery of Surgery textbook, and was named one of the 24 most influential surgeons of the twentieth century. In addition to being a respected member of the Southern Surgical Association, Dr. Fischer served as Chairman of the American Board of Surgery among many other notable positions.

Dr. Fischer will be fondly remembered as a devoted surgeon, mentor, and a great contributor to the Southern Surgical Association. He is survived by his wife Karen of 55 years, son Erich and daughter Alexandra, daughter-in-law Hallie, son-in-law Peter, and two grandchildren. The Southern Surgical Association sends our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to Dr. Fischer’s family, friends, and colleagues.