The Medical Jungle

"Dr. Veith would seem an unlikely radical, but he is waging an aggressive and unusually public fight in the clubby world of the medical profession."--The New York Times As one of America's most celebrated vascular surgeons, Dr. Frank Veith's career was anything but conventional--from working undercover with the CIA to fighting to make vascular surgery an independent specialty to creating the largest vascular conference in the world (the VEITHsymposium). Dr. Veith's pioneering leadership led to the development of revolutionary techniques in limb salvage, lung transplantation, and endovascular treatment: including the first endovascular aortic aneurysm repair in North America. It also earned him a reputation as a medical maverick who cared more about his patients than the bottom line. Each of his innovative concepts was initially rejected by a hypercompetitive medical establishment that operated by the metaphorical law of the jungle--eat or be eaten. Hospital administrators, medical organizations, and vying colleagues spent decades trying to discredit his work or dismiss it entirely, either because they refused to believe it was possible or were too jealous to admit the truth. Ultimately, some of them even co-opted his innovations and claimed his research as their own. In The Medical Jungle, Dr. Veith reveals the world of high-level medicine as it has rarely been seen--recounting the stories, techniques, principles, and philosophies that shaped his success. Always going against the grain for the greater good, his perseverance and courage will inspire anyone (in any profession) fighting the good fight.