Described as a “quiet, thoughtful” man by many, G. Dean MacEwen, M.D., nevertheless was quite the revolutionary when it came to bringing the best orthopedic care to children worldwide. His recent death at the age of 96 on August 6, 2024, has left a deep rift among the orthopedic community.
Dr. MacEwen was responsible for some of the biggest advances in pediatric orthopedic care. He developed and modified devices to treat scoliosis and congenital hip dysplasia and helped establish screening protocols for hip dysplasia in newborns and scoliosis in school children.
During his time at Nemours Children’s Hospital, which he joined in 1958, he quickly made a name for himself as an important leader in the field.
MacEwen was a charter member and president of many orthopedic societies, including the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America and the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS). He published more than 100 research papers and created the International Pediatric Orthopaedic Research Fellowship so he could mentor young doctors worldwide.
The deepness of his commitment to mentoring could be felt in 1995 when one-third of the members of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America either had been directly trained by MacEwen or had been impacted by him in some way.
A True Pioneer
Dr. MacEwen was born to George and Catherine MacEwen on November 10, 1927. He grew up on a dairy farm in Metcalfe, Canada, but his medical pursuits would lead him to building a new life in the United States.
His aunt, a nurse, encouraged him to become a doctor. He started his medical training at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Then after earning his medical degree, he completed an internship in surgery at the District of Columbia General Hospital in Washington, DC. Afterwards he moved to Memphis, Tennessee, for an orthopedic residency at the Campbell Clinic, which was founded by Dr. Willis C. Campbell, the author of the first edition of Campbell’s Operative Orthopaedics published in 1939.
At the clinic, MacEwen met Dr. Harold Boyd who introduced him to Dr. Alfred Shands, the first medical director of the Alfred I. duPont Institute of the Nemours Foundation in Delaware.
Shands was looking for a young surgeon to partner with him at the Institute which would eventually become the Nemours Children’s Hospital and was impressed with MacEwen.
Suken A. Shah, M.D., the current Shands/MacEwen Endowed Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery, said in an interview with Nemours, “With a clear vision of what pediatric orthopedics could accomplish, Dr. MacEwen transformed every aspect of the field through a combination of passionate care for children, an unmatched devotion to research, and a relentless commitment to educating and mentoring generations of leaders in the specialty.”
During his tenure as the Institute’s second medical director, MacEwen expanded services so more children could be treated at the pediatric hospital and recruited top talent to care for them. The Institute quickly became known as an international leader in pediatric orthopedic clinical care, surgical training, and research under his direction.
Mentoring other surgeons was very important to him. He often traveled to Europe and Latin America as a visiting professor and lecturer and hosted international students at the Nemours Estate through the International Pediatric Orthopaedic Research Fellowship. He also established exchanged programs in Korea, India, and Japan.
In symposiums he was known to be a very thought-provoking speaker, urging his audience to think outside the box when it came to pediatric orthopedic conditions.
His own research included the development of the Wilmington jacket to treat scoliosis and the modification of the Pavlik harness to treat infant congenital hip dysplasia. He also developed the SRS database for surgical and neurologic complications in scoliosis surgery.
During the investiture of Dr. Will Mackenzie as the first pediatric orthopedic surgeon to hold the title of The Shands/MacEwen Endowed Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery at Nemours Children’s in 2013, MacEwen had said, “I had the experience of learning from the best and then passing my knowledge on to the next generation. I had the privilege of pursuing research that led to better treatments for children with a range of orthopedic conditions. I worked with dedicated colleagues, including my fellow surgeons, fellows and residents, nurses, and therapists and all who made the Institute so well-known and regarded and was able to advocate for our expansion to a full-service pediatric hospital where children could receive a full range of medical services for their conditions.”
On MacEwen’s legacy, Nemours said in a statement, “Dr. MacEwen will be remembered for many accomplishments, none more significant than his determined efforts to broaden the Institute’s scope of care to include conditions, diseases, and injuries children suffer that extend beyond orthopedics. His singular vision led to the establishment of what is now known as Nemours Children’s Health, which comprises two award-winning hospitals in Delaware and Florida and more than 70 primary and specialty care locations.”
An Amazing Mentor
After retiring from Nemours, MacEwen joined Children’s Hospital in New Orleans in 1987. He served as chair of pediatric orthopedic surgery and continued to mentor incoming surgeons. Between 1995 and 2001, he moved to the Philadelphia area as member of the orthopedics department at St. Christopher’s Hospital and served as a consultant for Shriner’s Hospital.
One of the many surgeons MacEwen had an impact on during his medical career was Dr. Martin Herman, St. Christopher’s surgeon-in-chief.
Herman told Orthopedics This Week that MacEwen was already at St. Christopher’s when he joined the hospital in 1996.
“He was one of the most influential people on my career. He was an amazing mentor. He taught me how to listen to children and their parents and focus on their concerns not just on patient care.”
Herman said that MacEwen also cautioned him about joining the race to always be on the cutting edge of technology. He told him that when it comes to new approaches in surgery, there are always some surgeons who are super aggressive and some who prefer to prepare carefully before jumping right in.
MacEwen emphasized that it was always more important to be a good surgeon than to be the first in line.
His wife Marilyn died 12 days after his death. He is survived by their five children, nine grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
