Joel Noe (March 7, 1943 - September 13, 1991), FACS, was a

plastic surgeon 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 craniof ...

at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, who founded one of the nation's first burn units and argon laser programs. He specialized in burn care and the laser removal of birthmarks. Noe, an assistant clinical professor at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is cons ...

, was editor of ''Aesthetic Surgery,'' the journal of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. In addition to his 54 publications in peer-reviewed journals and 22 book chapters, he was also a coeditor of ''Chronic Wound Problems'' (1983,

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

), ''Cutaneous Laser Surgery: Principles and Methods'' (1983,

John Wiley and Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, in ...

), and ''Illustrated Cutaneous Laser Surgery'' (1990, Appleton & Lange). A native of Boston, Noe graduated from

Marblehead High School Marblehead High School is a public high school located in Marblehead, Massachusetts. History The school has approximately 970 students. The current campus began construction in 2001, and opened for the 2002–2003 school year. In 2002, Nati ...

in 1961,

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

in 1965, and

in 1969. He trained in surgery at the

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...

, where he was named Outstanding Surgical Intern, and in plastic surgery at the

Stanford University Medical Center Stanford University Medical Center is a medical complex which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. It is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the United States and serves as a teaching hospital for the S ...

until 1975; in 1974-5, under the Interplast Volunteer Program, Noe performed corrective surgery on children in Latin America with birth defects such as cleft palates. In 1977, two years after joining the Beth Israel, Noe founded and directed the hospital's burn unit and argon laser program. Some wine-colored birthmarks known as

capillary hemangioma A capillary is a small blood vessel from 5 to 10 micrometres (μm) in diameter. Capillaries are composed of only the tunica intima, consisting of a thin wall of simple squamous endothelial cells. They are the smallest blood vessels in the body: ...

s, which occur in about one out of 200 Americans, were previously treated with an

argon laser An ion laser is a gas laser that uses an ionized gas as its lasing medium. Like other gas lasers, ion lasers feature a sealed cavity containing the laser medium and mirrors forming a Fabry–Pérot resonator. Unlike helium–neon lasers, the ...

. Noe taught hundreds of physicians from around the world how to use the device, and appeared on

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...

on 11 July 1990 to discuss the use of lasers in plastic surgeries. Argon lasers are no longer used due to the effectiveness and much-improved safety of the cooled pulsed dye laser. Noe died of cancer on 13 September 1991. In his memory, a youth basketball league has been named after him in his family's hometown of

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Allston, Fenway–Kenmore, Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, and ...

, where he volunteered as a coach for the Brookline youth basketball league. Joel was married to Paula H. (Jacobson) Noe, and had 3 sons, Jason, David and Alex.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noe, Joel Mark 1943 births 1991 deaths American plastic surgeons Harvard Medical School alumni Harvard Medical School faculty 20th-century American physicians Harvard College alumni Marblehead High School alumni 20th-century surgeons