THE HEAVY LIFTING IS DONE Harry J. Buncke has been referred to as the ''Father of Microsurgery.'' I am sure this means different things to different people and has meant different things at different times. For me, at this time, as father of 2-year-old Ava and 4-year-old Ethan, I cannot think of a more appropriate descriptor for Dr. Harry J. Buncke.
The expectations of a ''father'' have expanded over the last several decades. Traditional distinctions between parents have blurred. Suzanne shares responsibility as provider for, authority over, and disciplinarian of our children. I share responsibility for practical daily childcare, nurturing, and continued emotional growth and development. Except for the degree to which Suzanne and I are involved in these pursuits, the only difference in our responsibilities is I do the ''heavy lifting.'' By heavy lifting, I not only mean I lift things that Suzanne cannot, but I also do the things that no one else wants to do.
Harry did the ''heavy lifting'' for microsurgery. Since its conception in 1957 in Glasgow, Scotland, Harry has provided what was needed for microsurgery's development. At a time when 6.0 suture was the smallest available and clearly inappropriate for microsurgery, he developed his own micro-suture by separating individual silk thread from silkworms. He developed the first microsurgical needles 30-50 lm in diameter, small enough for microvascular anatomosis, by metalizing the silkworm thread. 1 After consulting with the jewelry industry, he redesigned operative instruments making them fine enough for microsurgical techniques. When Jules Jacobsen, a vascular surgeon convinced Zeiss to manufacture a binocular operating microscope for neurosurgical procedures, Harry saw its importance for microsurgery, obtained the third of its kind, and had it modified for microsurgery. 2