The "Ins” and ''Outs” of Tonsils
PROFESSIONAL NEWS
One of the major problems
facing general practitioners is
what to do about tonsils, Dr.
William DeMaria, Associate Pro
fessor of Pediatrics, told the
physicians attending the session
on pediatrics during the 17th
Annual Meeting of the N. C.
Academy of General Practice.
Over 400 family physicians
from across North Carolina
gathered in Durham for the an
nual meeting, which was held
October 31-November 2 at the
Jack Tar Hotel.
Dr. DeMaiia
Dr. DeMaria said ‘ ‘ there is no
uniformity on how and when
tonsils should be removed.” He
said the way in which tonsil
cases are handled varies from
one community to another.
‘ ‘ In one community, there is a
doctor who likes to take them
out, while in another community,
there is one who doesn’t,” Dr.
DeMaria said. Removal may be
27 times higher in one com
munity than in a neighboring
one, he added.
More tonsils are removed
among professional and manage
rial families than among blue
collar laboring classes, he said.
The general public opinion
that tonsil removals among
children are on the decrease is
fals'e. Dr. DeMaria declared.
Tonsils are removed due to
problems encountered with snor
ing, hearing, rheumatic fever,
sinuses, asthma, speech, night
mares, retardation and the large
ness of the tonsils, a survey
among physicians in northern
states shows, he said.
One of the major reasons for
tonsil removals is parental pres
sure, he stated.
“Mothers have been brought
up that it is a health measure,”
he said. The use of health
insurance, to list deductions on
income tax is another major
pressure, he added.
Tonsils normally are removed
between ages of five and six in
order to avoid frequent respira
tory infections which will result
during later childhood years.
Dr. DeMaria warned doctors
that “you cannot differentiate
bad tonsils from good ones by
superficial examination alone.”
He said histological examination
should be made.
In addition to the session on
pediatrics, special scientific ses
sions were held in psychiatry,
pulmonary diseases, and chronic
illness.
Other physicians from Duke
speaking at the scientific sessions
were: Dr. Morton Bogdonoff,
Professor of Medicine; Dr. Herb
Sieker, Professor of Medicine;
and Dr. George Baylin, Profes
sor of Radiology.
Guest speakers at the sessions
included Dr. McCloud Riggens
of the Columbia University
School of Medicine; Dr. Doris
Howell of the AVoman’s Medical
College of Pennsylvania; Dr.
Alexis Shelakov of the National
Institute of Health in Bethesda,
Maryland; Dr. Beverly T. Mead
of the Creighton University De
partment of Psychiatry, Omaha,
Nebraska; Dr. Edward M. Litin
of the University of Minnesota
Section of Psychiatry; and Dr.
Granger E. Westberg of the
Texas Medical Center Institute
of Religion.
Program Accredited
Duke University Medical Cen
ter’s Chaplaincy Program re
cently received accreditation
and affiliation with the Institute
of Pastoral Care at the annual
meeting of the national organiza
tion in Miami Beach, Florida,
October 15-22.
In attendance at the meeting
was Duke Hospital Chaplain,
The Reverend P. Wesley Aitken.
The Duke Medical Center’s
Chaplaincy Program was one of
approximately 50 applying for
accreditation in 1965. Only one
half of that number received ac
creditation.
(Continued, page 5)
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DR. BAYARD CARTER, Chairman Emeritus of the Department
of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was elected president of the American
Gynecological Club at a meeting of the Club in Boston, November
11-13. DR. ROY T. PARKER, Chairman of the Department of
Obstetrics and Gynecology, was elected to membership in the club,
which is presently composed of 35 members.
DR. GEORGE D. WILBANKS, JR., presented papers at three
meetings held during November. One, entitled “The Postpartum
Cervix and Its Relations to Cervical Neoplasia: A Colposcopic
Study,” was given at the American Society of Colposcopy and
Colpomicroscopy in New York City, November 6. Another, entitled
“Rh Problems, Past, Present and Future,” was given during the
Postgraduate Course on Problems of the Perinatal Period, spon
sored by Duke Medical Center and held here November 10. The
third paper, entitled “Interaction of Intraepithelial Nelplasia,
Normal Epithelium and Fibroblasts from the Adult Uterine Cer
vix, ’ ’ was presented at a meeting of the American Society of Cytol
ogy, held in New York City on November 5.
RAY E. BROWN, Director of the Graduate Program in Hospital
Administration, and DONALD S. SMITH, Program Coordinator,
participated in a Hospital Trustees Institute, held in Fairmont,
West Virginia, November 8-9. Both gave a series of lectures during
the institute.
DR. PHILIP HANDLER, James B. Duke Professor of Biochem
istry and Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry, partici
pated in the Annual Flexner Award Dinner, sponsored by the
American Association of Medical Colleges and held in Philadelphia
on November 1. Dr. Handler, who was chairman of the Awards
Committee, presented the Annual Flexner Award to Dr. Joseph T.
Wearn of Western Reserve University. Also in attendance at the
meeting was Dr. E. Croft Long, Assistant Dean in Charge of
Medical Student Affairs.
DR. KENNETH L. DUKE, Associate Professor of Anatomy, and
ALBERT KLEIN, a graduate student in Anatomy, presented
papers at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Society of Anato
mists, held in Baltimore, Maryland, November 19-21. Also in at
tendance from the Department of Anatomy were Dr. R. F. Becker,
Dr. J. E. King, Emy Villanueva, Carolyn Boyd and Beth Dough
erty.
ELON H. CLARK, Chief of the Division of Medical Art and Illus
tration and Director of the Facial Prosthesis Laboratory, was
invited to attend a two-day conference on “Research Needs in the
Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities Resulting from Cancer.”
The conference was held at New York University Medical Center,
November 22-23. Mr. Clark met with the sessions dealing with facial
disfigurement. Only about 45 persons concerned with research in the
rehabilitation of persons with disability resulting from cancer were
invited to participate in the conference.
MRS. CHARLOTTE CONELY, Therapeutic Dietitian, represented
Duke at the Western Hemisphere Nutrition Congress, which was
sponsored by the Council of Foods and Nutrition of the American
Medical Association and held in Chicago, Illinois, November 8-11.
Two members of the Department of Dietetics were selected for
offices recently. DOROTHY E. TATE, Director of Dietetics, was
appointed to serve for two years on the joint committee of the
American Dietetic Association—American Hospital Association.
MARY HELEN McLACHLAN, Educational Director of Dietetics,
was elected president of the North Carolina Council of Foods and
Nutrition at the fall meeting of the organization.
Two officials from Duke were among distinguished speakers at the
White House Conference on Health, November 3-4, in Washington,
D.C. DR. EUGENE A STEAD, Professor and Chairman of the
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