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Early life
Dr. Hampar Kelikian (1899-1983), an Armenian orthopedic surgeon. Kelikian, a native of Hadjin (Cilicia), came to America in 1919 with two dollars and a rug. In 1920, he secured a scholarship at the University of Chicago and went on to finish Rush Medical College. Kelikian had many patients, but one stuck out from the rest.
Medical Career and Life During World War II
Dr. Kelikian was an emeritus associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Northwestern University Medical School, performing 10 operations a week when he was 80. Kelikian wrote three monographs, all classics, on hand, ankle, and foot surgery, as well as a book on Armenian poetry. He had never charged an Armenian for treatment. Bob Dole was one of his many patients, refused to accept any fees from the young veteran (Kelikian's brother Siragan was killed in Italy in 1943) and he performed seven surgeries over the next five years to repair Dole's arm. And he did more than operate on his patient; he gave him a fresh perspective: "We start by not thinking so much anymore about what you have lost," he said. "You must think about what you have left . . . and what you can do with it."
Personal life
Hampar, was married twice, he has a son, Armen who is also a surgeon. And a daughter Alice. Dr. Kelikian was an Armenian Genocide survivor and that is why he came to America to escape the Ottoman Empire. This one of the many millions of Armenians that made the world a better place. With his books on hand, ankle, and foot surgery, he reinvented surgery for his time, and his ways are now practiced by his son who is also a surgeon. He is known for his limb restoration surgical techniques. He would usually rise at 4 in the morning, often begins with poetry rather than medical writing. The "literary room" in Kelikian's Chicago home includes John Irving and Willa Cather just to name a few, and he urges students to read novels he has read. "They can learn how an epileptic feels from Dostoevski, about an Oedipus complex from D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers, and tuberculosis from Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain," Kelikian once said. Kelikian was inspired by his uncle, who was also the chief surgeon of the Turkish army, he rescued Hampar and his family when the Turks massacred most of Armenian mountain village that Kelikian lived in, in 1915. After emigrating, Kelikian got training at the University of Chicago and the prestigious Rush Medical College. Interns teased him that his annual trips to the Mideast were to preserve his heavy accent. He was married to a singer for 22 years, he divorced her in 1949. That very same year he married his second wife, Ovsanna, who bore him three children. The oldest, Armen, an orthopedic surgeon just like his father.
Death
Dr. Hampar Kelikian died on Sunday July 24, 1983 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. He was 84.
Achievments made during Medical Career
Dr. Kelikian was an emeritus associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Northwestern University Medical School, performing 10 operations a week when he was 80. He operated on Senator Bob Dole, Republican of Kansaas, then a soldier who had been wounded in Italy. The operation restored the use of Mr. Dole's arm by transplanting leg bone and muscle to the limb. Dr. Kelikian was decorated by President Truman and by the British for his work in reconstructing soldiers' mangled hands and feet.
Dr. Hampar Kelikian (1899-1983), an Armenian orthopedic surgeon. Kelikian, a native of Hadjin (Cilicia), came to America in 1919 with two dollars and a rug. In 1920, he secured a scholarship at the University of Chicago and went on to finish Rush Medical College. Kelikian had many patients, but one stuck out from the rest.
Medical Career and Life During World War II
Dr. Kelikian was an emeritus associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Northwestern University Medical School, performing 10 operations a week when he was 80. Kelikian wrote three monographs, all classics, on hand, ankle, and foot surgery, as well as a book on Armenian poetry. He had never charged an Armenian for treatment. Bob Dole was one of his many patients, refused to accept any fees from the young veteran (Kelikian's brother Siragan was killed in Italy in 1943) and he performed seven surgeries over the next five years to repair Dole's arm. And he did more than operate on his patient; he gave him a fresh perspective: "We start by not thinking so much anymore about what you have lost," he said. "You must think about what you have left . . . and what you can do with it."
Personal life
Hampar, was married twice, he has a son, Armen who is also a surgeon. And a daughter Alice. Dr. Kelikian was an Armenian Genocide survivor and that is why he came to America to escape the Ottoman Empire. This one of the many millions of Armenians that made the world a better place. With his books on hand, ankle, and foot surgery, he reinvented surgery for his time, and his ways are now practiced by his son who is also a surgeon. He is known for his limb restoration surgical techniques. He would usually rise at 4 in the morning, often begins with poetry rather than medical writing. The "literary room" in Kelikian's Chicago home includes John Irving and Willa Cather just to name a few, and he urges students to read novels he has read. "They can learn how an epileptic feels from Dostoevski, about an Oedipus complex from D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers, and tuberculosis from Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain," Kelikian once said. Kelikian was inspired by his uncle, who was also the chief surgeon of the Turkish army, he rescued Hampar and his family when the Turks massacred most of Armenian mountain village that Kelikian lived in, in 1915. After emigrating, Kelikian got training at the University of Chicago and the prestigious Rush Medical College. Interns teased him that his annual trips to the Mideast were to preserve his heavy accent. He was married to a singer for 22 years, he divorced her in 1949. That very same year he married his second wife, Ovsanna, who bore him three children. The oldest, Armen, an orthopedic surgeon just like his father.
Death
Dr. Hampar Kelikian died on Sunday July 24, 1983 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. He was 84.
Achievments made during Medical Career
Dr. Kelikian was an emeritus associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Northwestern University Medical School, performing 10 operations a week when he was 80. He operated on Senator Bob Dole, Republican of Kansaas, then a soldier who had been wounded in Italy. The operation restored the use of Mr. Dole's arm by transplanting leg bone and muscle to the limb. Dr. Kelikian was decorated by President Truman and by the British for his work in reconstructing soldiers' mangled hands and feet.
