Albert Ashton Berg (August 10, 1872 in New York – July 1, 1950) was an American surgeon of Hungarian heritage. He had three sisters and four brothers. Berg attended New York public schools, City College and

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the graduate medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Founded i ...

. Berg trained at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan from 1894 to 1896, before being appointed to its staff as an adjunct surgeon in 1899. He was later promoted to associate surgeon (1911) and attending surgeon (1914). Berg was chief of the gastrointestinal service there between 1915 and 1934, when he retired from active service, becoming a consulting surgeon. At the behest of his colleague

Richard Lewisohn Richard Lewisohn (July 12, 1875 in Hamburg – August 11, 1961 in New York) was a German-American surgeon. At Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, he developed procedures that made blood transfusion practical. Life and career Lewisohn was born t ...

, Berg performed the first subtotal gastric resection for

peptic ulcer Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a break in the inner lining of the stomach, the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while one in the first part of the intestines i ...

in the United States. Berg was "a strong advocate of the procedure and reported more than 500 cases, in which a recurrence rate of slightly over 1% was compared to a recurrence rate of 34% after gastroenterostomy alone". Berg "gain dnationwide renown as an innovator in the field of abdominal surgery". He was President of the

International College of Surgeons The International College of Surgeons (ICS) is a global organization dedicated to promoting excellence of surgeons and surgical specialists worldwide. It was founded in 1935 by Max Thorek and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ICS works thou ...

from 1943 to 1947, as well as a Fellow of the

New York Academy of Medicine The New York Academy of Medicine (the Academy) is a health policy and advocacy organization founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health ...

and an Honorary Fellow of the Roman and Turin Surgical Societies. Berg, who was "an indefatigable and extremely facile surgeon", along with his brother

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

(1858 – 1938), donated a collection of over 35,000 printed works on American and English literature to the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

(the

Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, commonly known as the Main Branch, 42nd Street Library or the New York Public Library, is the flagship building in the New York Public Library system in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. T ...

). The collection was established on October 11, 1940, and endowed in Henry's memory. At the time of his death in 1950, following kidney surgery, Berg was a consulting surgeon at a number of other hospitals.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Albert American surgeons 1872 births 1950 deaths Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni City College of New York alumni 20th-century surgeons