Dr. George Wantz was a Clinical Professor of Surgery at The New York Hospital when I was a resident in General Surgery, from 1983 to 1988. He died after a long and debilitating illness in 2000, at the age of 77. Dr. Wantz was an expert in hernia repair in every sense of the word. He understood the art and science of hernia surgery, and was instrumental in bringing surgeons in the United States up to date on innovative techniques that originated in Europe, particularly the work of Drs. Stoppa and Rives. Dr. Wantz was a founding member of the American Hernia Society, the first American member of the European Hernia Society, and a senior member of the Board of the specialty journal Hernia. At last year’s meeting in Orlando, I heard a wonderful tribute to Dr. Wantz from Dr. Arthur Gilbert, one of his contemporaries. I would like to offer my own tribute to him, as one of his surgical trainees.
