HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

Alan Gerry Endows Chair in Orthopedic Surgery

The hip reconstruction program at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has received the resources it needs to continue making advances in the field through a $4 million gift from Alan Gerry.

The gift, the largest ever in the history of orthopedics at the Medical School and MGH, will endow the Alan Gerry Professorship in Orthopaedic Surgery at the Medical School, to be located at MGH, and the Alan Gerry Endowed Scholar in Hip Reconstructive Surgery, also at MGH.

"Alan Gerry's gift is an example of how the combination of wonderful patient care at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the academic mission of Harvard Medical School are conjoined," said Joseph B. Martin, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, at a reception in honor of the new professorship.

Gerry first came to the MGH in 1968 seeking the help of William H. Harris, currently chief of the Hip and Implant Unit, for treatment of a hip fracture that he had received a few years earlier while skiing. "I was hopping around on crutches. Bill was developing new techniques for putting in hip replacements. We hit it off right away. He had that look in his eye and I knew he could help me," said Gerry, describing his first meeting with Harris. One year later, Harris introduced total hip replacement surgery in New England, a procedure he performed on Gerry in 1972. That replacement, says Gerry, "is still functioning beautifully." William Harris has been named the first Alan Gerry Professor.

Gerry began his career selling refrigerators, televisions, and Christmas trees in his hometown of Liberty, N.Y. Because Liberty is in a valley, television reception was poor and television sets were not selling as well as other appliances. With a $1,500 investment of his own money and three skeptical partners, Gerry built a tower to improve reception in Liberty. The experiment worked and television sales rose sharply. However, the issue of television reception stayed in Gerry's mind and he became convinced that cable had something to offer his neighbors.

His fledgling cable company took flight, spreading throughout New York State to Philadelphia, and eventually across the country to Texas and California. Two years ago, when Gerry sold his cable television business -- still based in Liberty, N.Y. -- to Time Warner for $2.8 billion, he was the eighth largest cable operator in the nation with 1.3 million customers. He had helped Mayor Goode of Philadelphia establish a minority-led cable operation in that city and has won numerous awards in cable television. Recently, Gerry started a new career by purchasing the land of the famous Woodstock festival in upstate New York, where he plans to build a musical theme park to preserve the site's legend and boost the local economy.

"Through it all, through the entire pressure and aggressive practices of the development of cable TV in this country, those of you who know Alan know the astonishing warmth and grace of this man and his immense dedication to helping family, helping people, and helping community. Helping others is woven into his very fiber," said Harris.

Harris, a renowned orthopedic surgeon, is the author of more than 385 articles in peer-reviewed medical journals and the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards. As chief of the Hip and Implant Unit at MGH, he oversees more than 400 implant cases per year, which often include difficult and complex hip reconstructions. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the American Orthopedic Association, and a founding member of the Hip Society.

Murali Jasty, senior investigator of the Hip and Implant Unit at MGH, has been named the first Alan Gerry Scholar. Harris and Jasty conduct research at the Orthopaedics Biomechanics Laboratory at MGH, which focuses on improving implant design and the materials used in total joint replacement as well as studying the long-term effects of the surgery. The single problem dominating total joint replacement surgery today, Harris explains, is the wear and tear of ultra-high density polyethylene, the substance used as the artificial cartilage in total joint operations. This leads to implant failure because the worn-off particles of polyethylene induce an immune response that destroys the bone surrounding the artificial joints. "We have created a new polyethylene that wears vastly better than the material currently in use. It is likely to significantly improve total joint surgery worldwide. Alan Gerry's support will enable us to bring this material from a research idea to a daily, worldwide surgical implant," said Harris.

"Many people will strive to walk in Dr. Harris's footsteps, but no one will be able to fill his shoes," said Gerry, who hopes his contributions will make a difference "ensuring that the best and brightest maintain a position on the frontiers of medical technology.

"I am very lucky to be able to do this. I just hope somebody else will read about this and think they should have done it. And maybe they will."