Robert H. Ivy (1881–1974) was an American oral and plastic surgeon who is known to develop the team approach or multidisciplinary treatment involving care of children with

Cleft lip and cleft palate A cleft lip contains an opening in the upper lip that may extend into the nose. The opening may be on one side, both sides, or in the middle. A cleft palate occurs when the palate (the roof of the mouth) contains an opening into the nose. The te ...

. He is one of the early pioneers in the specialty of

plastic surgery Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes cranio ...

due to his surgical experience in World War I. During an intermaxillary fixation technique, ''Ivy Loop'' or ''Eyelet Wiring''is named after Dr. Ivy.

Life

He was born on 21 May 1881 at 73c Manchester Road, Southport, Lancashire, England, the son of Robert Sutcliffe Ivy and Annie Edith Cryer. He emigrated to the United States after 1891 and became naturalised in 1913. His uncle was Matthew Henry Cryer, by whom Robert's father was convinced to travel to the U.S. Robert's father studied dentistry and joined Matthew Cryer at his practice. Dr. Ivy went back to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to attend the Emmanuel School. At the age of 18 years in 1898, Dr. Ivy attended the

University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine (often referred to as Penn Dental Medicine or simply Penn Dental) is the dental school of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), an Ivy League university located in Philadelphia. It is one ...

upon the influence of his uncle Dr. Cryer. Robert then attended

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine The Perelman School of Medicine, commonly known as Penn Med, is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of Medicine is the oldest medi ...

soon after. He served as the first dental intern in the United States in 1901 at the

Philadelphia General Hospital The Blockley Almshouse, later known as Philadelphia General Hospital, was a charity hospital and poorhouse located in West Philadelphia. It originally opened in 1732/33 in a different part of the city as the Philadelphia Almshouse (not to be conf ...

. Upon the request of his father, Robert interrupted his studies during the 3rd year of medical school and went to China to practice dentistry. After returning from China, Robert completed his medical school education. Dr. Vilrary P. Blair had tremendous influence on Dr. Ivy's career as an oral surgeon. Dr. Ivy worked as an assistant to Dr. Blair at the Surgeon's General Office in Washington in 1917. Later he was assigned to

Base Hospital A base hospital is an Australian hospital serving a large rural area, perhaps equivalent to an American District Hospital. It is often supported by smaller hospitals in local communities. References Hospitals in Australia Hospitals Types o ...

in France which saw a lot of patient's with face, head and jaw injuries. Dr. Ivy also learned French during his stay in France practicing oral surgery during World War I. Dr. Ivy played an instrumental role in making the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery one of the world's first reading journal on Plastic Surgery. There is a society that is named after Dr. Ivy named ''Robert H. Ivy Pennsylvania Plastic Surgery Society''. The society was formed in 1954. He wrote a textbook named ''Applied anatomy and oral surgery for dental students.''

Positions

* Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Chief Editor (1942) * Bureau of Maternal and Child Health of Pennsylvania, Cleft Palate Division - Director (1919) * American Society of Plastic Surgeons - President *

American Board of Plastic Surgery The American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc. was organized as a subsidiary of the American Board of Surgery in 1938. The American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc. was given the status of a major specialty board in 1941. It is the one certifying body f ...

- Founding Member (1938) * Blockley Almshouse - First Dental Intern (1901-1903)

Awards

* Alumni Award of Merit - Alumni Society of University of Pennsylvania * Strittmatter Award - Philadelphia County Medical Society (1946) * Trimble Lecture Award * First Award by the Foundation of American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivy, Robert H 1881 births 1974 deaths People from Southport American dentists American dentistry academics American plastic surgeons University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine alumni Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni British emigrants to the United States 20th-century surgeons 20th-century dentists