Orthopedic surgeon Sidney Schultz, M.D. of Albuquerque, New Mexico, died on January 6, 2022. His family, colleagues, and patients say that his life, which spanned more than a century, will be remembered for so many things but, professionally, for his remarkable, artistic surgical skill.
Schulz often called orthopedic surgeons “sterile carpenters.” He performed one of the first total hip replacements in New Mexico. But what made him truly remarkable the people who knew him best say is his compassion and empathy for his patients. He had the ability to inspire trust in all his patients. Among his colleagues, he was universally renown for his operating room skills.
One patient wrote him a poem that he kept on his office wall: “A patient’s plea: When I am stricken knee, hip and thigh Or wounded grievously do I lie. I pray that God will send to me Schultz’s artistic surgery!”
His loved ones wrote in his obituary, “He was a doctor of renown, a true companion and dear friend, and a man who excelled in the art of living. Sidney lived 36,821 days from his birth in 1921. And although not every day was momentous, the sum total of that remarkable length of time is a vivid picture of a life filled with noteworthy accomplishment, deep satisfaction, and enduring impressions.”
Schulz was also a well-respected expert medical witness who had a knack for putting complicated medical terminology into easily understandable language.
He was also loved for his sense of humor and his desire to enjoy all aspects of life, especially the people in his life. He loved to recount puns and riddle stories and Yiddish jokes, and also loved to share his love of art, especially Western and Native American art.
Schulz was born in New Jersey but moved to Albuquerque after finishing his medical residency in Louisiana at Tulane University. A few years later he opened his own practice.
His medical degree is from St. Louis University School of Medicine. He also completed a residency in general surgery at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an internal medicine at New York Downtown Hospital. He did a transitional year internship with Interfaith Medical Center.
Schulz married his childhood sweetheart Ruth who he met at summer camp when they were 12 and they spent almost 75 years together before she died. He is survived by his three children, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
