John U. Bascom M.D. (June 6, 1925 – March 22, 2013), FACS, was an American surgeon and researcher who pioneered new understanding and treatment of pilonidal disease.

Early life

He was born June 6, 1925, in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, to Lillian and Dr. K.F. Bascom. His father was an anatomist and teacher at the

Medical College of Virginia The VCU Medical Center is Virginia Commonwealth University's medical campus located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, in the Court End neighborhood. VCU Medical Center used to be known as the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), which merged with the ...

. Bascom graduated from the

United States Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serve as officers in the United States Merchant ...

Kings Point, New York Kings Point is a village located on the Great Neck Peninsula in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 5,005 at the 2010 census. History The Village of Ki ...

, and served in the Pacific from 1943 until the masters, mates and pilots strike of October 1, 1946.

Education

He earned a bachelor's in physics and master's degree in biological science from

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

, graduated from

Northwestern University School of Medicine Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is the Medical school in the United States, medical school of Northwestern University and is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1859, Feinberg offers a f ...

on June 15, 1953, and interned at

Cook County Hospital The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (formerly Cook County Hospital) is a public hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Cook County Health and Hospital System, along with Provident Hospital of Cook County and ...

in Chicago, before starting a surgical fellowship at Minneapolis General Hospital. He earned a PhD in surgery from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

in 1960, where he researched topics in vascular surgery, including vascular graft materials, with Dr. C.R. Hitchcock.

Career

He moved to Oregon in 1960 and worked in Eugene, where he did much of his important research into

pilonidal disease Pilonidal disease is a type of skin infection which typically occurs as a cyst between the cheeks of the buttocks and often at the upper end. Symptoms may include pain, swelling, and redness. There may also be drainage of fluid, but rarely a fev ...

, a condition more popularly known as "Jeep seat." The condition had long been attributed to congenital pits in the skin, ingrown hairs or trauma from repeated pressure over the tailbone (such as riding long periods on bumpy terrain in a Jeep). Bascom researched and proposed an alternate theory that normal

hair follicles The hair follicle is an organ found in mammalian skin. It resides in the dermal layer of the skin and is made up of 20 different cell types, each with distinct functions. The hair follicle regulates hair growth via a complex interaction between h ...

grew infected and swelled shut, with the infection then tracking down into soft fat below the skin and creating abscesses. He also helped adapt and refine less-invasive surgeries for treating persistent pilonidal disease. The successful surgical procedure he developed is known as the "Bascom cleft lift procedure." This work was praised as "lucid" and a "paradigm shift" by some fellow surgeons. He also published articles on topics including hernias and saline overload, and belonged to professional groups including the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners, which he chaired.

Personal life

Bascom met his wife,

Ruth Bascom Ruth Ellen Bascom (; February 4, 1926 – August 26, 2010) was an American politician who served as the first female mayor of Eugene, Oregon, from 1993 until 1996. Early life Bascom was born Ruth Ellen Fenton in Ames, Iowa, the daughter of tw ...

(who became the first female mayor of Eugene, Oregon) in sixth grade in

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 cen ...

. The two married 13 years later and had four daughters and two sons, all of whom went into medicine (four became doctors, one a nurse and one a pharmacist). He was an avid cyclist, often biking to work, and broke his hip in a bicycle accident at age 87. Bascom died in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, from complications on March 22, 2013.

References

External links

John U. Bascom memory page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bascom, John American surgeons 1925 births 2013 deaths Kansas State University alumni Feinberg School of Medicine alumni University of Minnesota Medical School alumni People from Eugene, Oregon