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In this six-minute interview taped August 6, 2008 at his home in Rhinebeck, NY, general surgeon Jim Wing discusses his twenty-year partnership with Dr. Ken Appell. Following is the transcript of that interview:
My name is Jim Wing, and I’m a general surgeon in Rhinebeck, and I’ve been associated with Dr. Appell for the last 20 years. I remember – I’ll start from the beginning, before it was the beginning for me and my association with him. I had just finished my residency and was – actually, I was at a teaching hospital and I’d stayed there for a couple of years afterwards and I was looking for a place to go to work after that. My sister lived in Rhinebeck, which was the initial impetus to come up here. And I looked at who the surgeons were in town here, and Dr. Appell was one and Dr. Jameson was another one. So I inquired of both of them just what the availability of, or their interest in having a partner would be at that point. Dr. Appell was actually quite interested at the time, so it was quite lucky for me.
I’ll tell a small tale out of school, I guess. I don’t think I ever told Dr. Appell this, but I remember coming up here and I’m sure – or actually I know – he looked me up and I looked him up, and we checked each other out. And one of the things I noticed was, ah, he’s 65, I said, how much longer can he really practice at this point. So I’ll be going up there and I’m sure that at some point soon after that he’ll want to retire. Well, he’s still helping me to this day. As a matter of fact, he helped me just two days ago in the operating room, and he’s still an excellent surgeon, and I’m glad to have him with me in the operating room.
So anyway, I came up here, and he, as I said, I was just inquiring as to whether he had any space or was interested in a partner. He was quite interested at the time, and in fact after we met and talked a little bit the first time, and I came back a second time, he offered to have me come in as a partner with him. And it’s been the happiest association ever since then, for the past 20 years, because I came up in July of 1988 and it’s now July or August of 2008, so that’s 20 years ago, and it’s been a wonderful association.
When I was coming up here and just looking Dr. Appell up and checking him out, I found out that he in fact was the person involved in what came to be known as the Brescia-Cimino shunt and should have been known as the Appell shunt, which is a radiocephalic fistula for dialysis for patients who are having kidney problems. He in fact was the surgeon involved in that study and was the one who did the actual legwork and the surgical work involved in the study, which is now a classic fistula for patients who have renal failure. And it’s been around for a long time – I remember doing it as a resident. We don’t do them at this hospital up here anymore because we don’t have dialysis capability. But I know Dr. Appell when he first came up here would go down to Poughkeepsie and perform the shunt down there. And I did it a number of times in Long Island where I was a resident and afterwards attending for a short while.
So that was very eye-opening to me, to realize that I was coming up to work with somebody who really was quite famous, and to this day is quite famous for that. That this is one of the things that will go down in surgical history as a real milestone, and something to be looked back upon. Um, it’s really ground-breaking, because it allows patients who do have chronic renal failure to have dialysis, and it’s a very functional shunt. So I was quite thrilled and quite impressed to be able to join someone of such magnitude.
And, um, sometimes surgeons are not the, uh, easiest people to get along with. I mean, we become know for our egos, and just because of the nature of the work that we do it can be quite stressful. But I have to tell you that I’ve never worked with, um, someone who is, uh, such a gentleman, and (chokes up slightly) uh… That I mean in two ways… he is truly a gentleman in terms of, um, his interactions with other people, and he’s truly a gentle man. I think in 20 years I don’t think I ever saw him really lose his temper and really, uh, get angry at anybody to the extent that surgeons are known for. Certainly we all have our moments when things don’t go right for us, and I was involved in him in that, because the operating room is a stressful place. But, um, he never, never lost his temper. I mean, he was very even-keeled – there were moments when things would go, uh, hoary, and we would need, you know, some help or, uh, it just wasn’t a pleasant situation. But he was never unpleasant in any situation that I can recall.
So it’s been, like I said, for 20 years, it’s just been a wonderful, wonderful, uh, partnership. And, um, he’s been a great mentor for me – I mean, I had some experience, but I was still a young surgeon at that point, and I picked up and fine-tuned my own surgical abilities, you know, because I was able to work alongside Dr. Appell and watch the things that he did, and incorporate some of the things that he did in my own practice of surgery. So it’s really been a fruitful existence for me, a fruitful relationship, and I’ve gained and progressed in my own surgical knowledge and my own surgical abilities because of being with him. Um, and as I’ve said I’m happy to know he’s still, um, able to come in and assist me, uh, in the operating room now, because he’s still a quite excellent surgeon – and I really, I really say that from the bottom of my heart. And I’m happy to know him and to have had the pleasure of working with him for many, many years.
My name is Jim Wing, and I’m a general surgeon in Rhinebeck, and I’ve been associated with Dr. Appell for the last 20 years. I remember – I’ll start from the beginning, before it was the beginning for me and my association with him. I had just finished my residency and was – actually, I was at a teaching hospital and I’d stayed there for a couple of years afterwards and I was looking for a place to go to work after that. My sister lived in Rhinebeck, which was the initial impetus to come up here. And I looked at who the surgeons were in town here, and Dr. Appell was one and Dr. Jameson was another one. So I inquired of both of them just what the availability of, or their interest in having a partner would be at that point. Dr. Appell was actually quite interested at the time, so it was quite lucky for me.
I’ll tell a small tale out of school, I guess. I don’t think I ever told Dr. Appell this, but I remember coming up here and I’m sure – or actually I know – he looked me up and I looked him up, and we checked each other out. And one of the things I noticed was, ah, he’s 65, I said, how much longer can he really practice at this point. So I’ll be going up there and I’m sure that at some point soon after that he’ll want to retire. Well, he’s still helping me to this day. As a matter of fact, he helped me just two days ago in the operating room, and he’s still an excellent surgeon, and I’m glad to have him with me in the operating room.
So anyway, I came up here, and he, as I said, I was just inquiring as to whether he had any space or was interested in a partner. He was quite interested at the time, and in fact after we met and talked a little bit the first time, and I came back a second time, he offered to have me come in as a partner with him. And it’s been the happiest association ever since then, for the past 20 years, because I came up in July of 1988 and it’s now July or August of 2008, so that’s 20 years ago, and it’s been a wonderful association.
When I was coming up here and just looking Dr. Appell up and checking him out, I found out that he in fact was the person involved in what came to be known as the Brescia-Cimino shunt and should have been known as the Appell shunt, which is a radiocephalic fistula for dialysis for patients who are having kidney problems. He in fact was the surgeon involved in that study and was the one who did the actual legwork and the surgical work involved in the study, which is now a classic fistula for patients who have renal failure. And it’s been around for a long time – I remember doing it as a resident. We don’t do them at this hospital up here anymore because we don’t have dialysis capability. But I know Dr. Appell when he first came up here would go down to Poughkeepsie and perform the shunt down there. And I did it a number of times in Long Island where I was a resident and afterwards attending for a short while.
So that was very eye-opening to me, to realize that I was coming up to work with somebody who really was quite famous, and to this day is quite famous for that. That this is one of the things that will go down in surgical history as a real milestone, and something to be looked back upon. Um, it’s really ground-breaking, because it allows patients who do have chronic renal failure to have dialysis, and it’s a very functional shunt. So I was quite thrilled and quite impressed to be able to join someone of such magnitude.
And, um, sometimes surgeons are not the, uh, easiest people to get along with. I mean, we become know for our egos, and just because of the nature of the work that we do it can be quite stressful. But I have to tell you that I’ve never worked with, um, someone who is, uh, such a gentleman, and (chokes up slightly) uh… That I mean in two ways… he is truly a gentleman in terms of, um, his interactions with other people, and he’s truly a gentle man. I think in 20 years I don’t think I ever saw him really lose his temper and really, uh, get angry at anybody to the extent that surgeons are known for. Certainly we all have our moments when things don’t go right for us, and I was involved in him in that, because the operating room is a stressful place. But, um, he never, never lost his temper. I mean, he was very even-keeled – there were moments when things would go, uh, hoary, and we would need, you know, some help or, uh, it just wasn’t a pleasant situation. But he was never unpleasant in any situation that I can recall.
So it’s been, like I said, for 20 years, it’s just been a wonderful, wonderful, uh, partnership. And, um, he’s been a great mentor for me – I mean, I had some experience, but I was still a young surgeon at that point, and I picked up and fine-tuned my own surgical abilities, you know, because I was able to work alongside Dr. Appell and watch the things that he did, and incorporate some of the things that he did in my own practice of surgery. So it’s really been a fruitful existence for me, a fruitful relationship, and I’ve gained and progressed in my own surgical knowledge and my own surgical abilities because of being with him. Um, and as I’ve said I’m happy to know he’s still, um, able to come in and assist me, uh, in the operating room now, because he’s still a quite excellent surgeon – and I really, I really say that from the bottom of my heart. And I’m happy to know him and to have had the pleasure of working with him for many, many years.
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