John Joseph Shea Jr. (September 4, 1924 – February 8, 2015) was an American medical doctor, professor and surgeon. He attended Christian Brothers High School, Memphis, Tennessee, the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

and

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

. He performed the first successful reconstructive stapedectomy in May, 1956. The patient was a 54-year-old housewife with

conductive hearing loss Conductive hearing loss (CHL) is a type of hearing impairment that occurs when sound waves are unable to efficiently travel through the outer ear, tympanic membrane (eardrum), or middle ear structures such as the ossicles. This blockage or dysfun ...

so severe that she could no longer hear at all, even with a hearing aid. Shea removed the

stapes The ''stapes'' or stirrup is a bone in the middle ear of humans and other tetrapods which is involved in the conduction of sound vibrations to the inner ear. This bone is connected to the oval window by its annular ligament, which allows the f ...

, covered the oval window opening with a vein graft removed from the back of the patient's hand, and inserted a prosthesis to replace the diseased stapes bone. The patient's hearing was restored and she heard well for the rest of her life. He pioneered numerous techniques in the treatment of hearing loss and dizziness, developed many instruments and prostheses to restore hearing, and worked to advance the knowledge and understanding of the treatment of ear disease. He was a clinical professor in the Ear, Nose and Throat Departments of the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

, the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

, the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

and

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

Family

Shea was married (1949) to the former Gwyn Cooke Rainer, 1930-2009 (later Mrs. Shelby Foote), with whom he had two children; then (1964) to the former Lynda Lee Mead (

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

, 1960), the couple had three children. He died on February 8, 2015.

References

External links

Shea clinic home pageJohn Shea Blog on Stapedectomy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, John J. Jr. 2015 deaths Physicians from Memphis, Tennessee University of Notre Dame alumni Harvard Medical School alumni 1924 births American otolaryngologists Tulane University faculty University of Mississippi faculty University of Tennessee faculty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty