HISTORY OF THE SEATTLE HAND SURGERY GROUP®
The Seattle Hand Surgery Group® had its beginning when Dr. Morris J. Dirstine returned from World War II. As a general surgeon, he had been put in charge of a hand surgery unit in Europe; the hand trauma cases he encountered led to his keen interest in this field. He returned to Seattle after the war and began a practice devoted to hand surgery. He was a pioneer in this specialty in Seattle and helped foster its growth and advancement. He died in 1983 and is still remembered fondly for his kindness and compassion towards patients and his willingness to teach others.
We honor Dr. Dirstine annually with the Dirstine Lectureship. Started in 1993 by Emeritus Drs. Almquist and Sack, Seattle Hand Surgery Group took over sponsorship in 2001. Pacific NW Hand Surgeons and Hand Therapists are welcomed annually to attend the lecture series.
**The Dirstine Lecture is solely sponsored by the owners of Seattle Hand Surgery Group, P.C. The lectureship is a private event that is not open to vendors. Please note that all generous offers of sponsorship are respectfully declined.
Past Dirstine Lecturers
1993 Richard I. Burton, M.D., University of Rochester
1994 Ronald L. Linscheid, M.D., Mayo Clinic
1995 Peter J. Stern, M.D., University of Cincinnati
1996 Julio Taleisnik, M.D., University of California, Irvine
1997 Andrew K. Palmer, M.D., SUNY Health Science Center
1998 James R. Urbaniak, M.D., Duke University Medical Center
1999 E.G. Shaw Wilgis, M.D., Curtis National Hand Center, Baltimore
2000 Edward E. Almquist, M.D., Seattle Hand Surgery Group
2001 James W. Strickland, M.D., Indiana University School of Medicine
2002 Hill Hastings II, M.D., Indiana Hand Center
2003 David P. Green, M.D., University of Texas Health Science Center
2004 Andrew Weiland, M.D., Hospital for Special Surgery, N.Y.
2005 Diego Fernandez, M.D., Lindenhof Hospital, Bern
2006 Brian Adams, M.D., University of Iowa Medical Center
2007 Arnold-Peter C. Weiss, M.D., Brown Medical School
2008 Alexander Y. Shin, M.D., Mayo Clinic
2009 Robert N. Hotchkiss, M.D., Hospital for Special Surgery, N.Y.
2010 James Chang, M.D., Stanford University Medical Center
2011 David Ruch, M.D., Duke University Medical Center
2012 Prosper Benhaim, M.D., UCLA Medical Center
2013 Edward Diao, M.D., California Pacific Medical Center
2014 Thomas J. Fischer, M.D., Indiana Hand to Shoulder Center
2015 Mark E. Baratz, M.D., University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
2016 Jorge L. Orbay, M.D., Miami Hand & Upper Extremity Institute
2017 Jennifer Moriatis Wolf, University of Chicago
2018 Philip Blazer, M.D., Brigham & Women’s Hospital
2019 Glenn Gaston, M.D., OrthoCarolina Hand Center
2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic
2021 Cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic
2022 Cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic
2023 James Higgins, M.D., Chesapeake Hand