[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 25, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E251-E252]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE LIFE AND MEDICAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF DR. JOHN SHEA, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 25, 2015

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and medical 
contributions of renowned surgeon, innovator and ``father of middle-ear 
surgery,'' Memphian Dr. John Shea, Jr. A graduate of the University of 
Notre Dame and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Shea served in the Korean 
War before returning to Memphis and taking over his father's medical 
practice in 1952. Two years later, he traveled to Vienna, Austria where 
he began extensive research into otosclerosis that would lead to his 
inventing the world's first prosthetic stapes--the tiny stirrup-shaped 
bone in the middle ear--and performing the groundbreaking stapedectomy 
procedure, which has since been used by doctors worldwide.
   While in Vienna, he read German manuscripts on otosclerosis, which 
is a condition of the inner ear that causes calcification of the

[[Page E252]]

stapes and is considered a leading cause of deafness. Although the 
medical community ended surgical attempts to address this condition 50 
years earlier, Dr. Shea had a vision to combat this cause of deafness 
in middle-aged adults by replacing the calcified bone with a 
prosthetic. While many of his colleagues questioned the procedure as 
dangerous, Dr. Shea was convinced through his research that the 
revolutionary surgery would work. On May 1, 1956, he successfully 
performed the first stapedectomy and went on to repeat the procedure 
nearly 50,000 times during his career before retiring in 2011.
   In addition to inventing the prosthetic stapes and developing the 
stapedectomy, Dr. Shea contributed to otology surgical instruments, 
including drills and microscopes, and intratympanic perfusion treatment 
for Meniere's disease or spontaneous vertigo. His ingenuity earned him 
a spot on the London Times list of ``1,000 Makers of the Twentieth 
Century'' and a 1962 featured cover article in Life magazine as one of 
five people who were recognized as part of ``The Takeover Generation.'' 
In 2013, he donated 406 papers, including over 300 published articles, 
documenting his life's work to the local Memphis Public Library's 
Memphis Room. Dr. Shea belonged to more than 50 scientific societies, 
and was a clinical professor in the otolaryngology departments of the 
University of Tennessee, the University of Mississippi, the University 
of North Carolina and Tulane University. Additionally, he received 
honorary doctorates from Memphis schools Christian Brothers University 
and Rhodes College, and an honorary fellowship from the Australian and 
English Royal College of Surgeons.
   In 1985, Dr. Shea opened the Shea Ear Clinic at Poplar and Ridgeway 
in Memphis where his son, Dr. Paul Shea, continues the family practice 
today. Dr. Shea, Jr. was a pioneer in the field of otology and a 
legendary doctor who helped usher in a new era of treatment. He came 
from one family of physicians and leaves behind another. My father, Dr. 
Morris D. Cohen, taught me about Dr. Shea, Sr. and Jr. and always spoke 
admiringly of them and their level of professionalism. While many 
Memphis physicians have received national acclaim, none have been more 
renowned than Dr. John Shea, Jr. Memphis will miss Dr. John Shea, Jr., 
and I send my condolences to his wife Lynda Lee Mead; sons Paul and Dr. 
John Shea III (private practice otologist); daughters Susanna Shea and 
Wendy Canarios; seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren; and 
his friends and loved ones. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
recognizing the life and medical contributions of Dr. John Shea, Jr. 
His was a life well-lived.

                          ____________________