By , Special to JTNews
Dr. David Tapper, surgeon-in-chief at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, and professor and vice-chairman of surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine, died at home on July 23, 2002 after a courageous battle with kidney cancer. He was 57.
Dr. Tapper graduated from the University of Maryland in 1966 and was a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Maryland Medical School. He began his surgical training at the University of California in San Francisco. Dr. Tapper interrupted his surgical residency to spend a two-year research fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital where he did some of the seminal angiogenesis research with Dr. Judah Folkman. After completing his surgical residency in San Francisco in 1977, he returned to Boston for training in Pediatric Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital. He stayed on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School and was attending surgeon at Boston Children’s Hospital. Four years later, he was recruited to become the first full-time Surgeon-in-Chief at Children’s Hospital in Seattle and Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
For thousands of patients, David Tapper was a great healer and gifted technical surgeon. His interest in kidney diseases led to an international reputation for the surgical treatment of kidney failure and high blood pressure. He started the kidney transplant program at Children’s and performed more than 50 successful transplants himself. He also treated hundreds of newborn infants with life-threatening defects, many of whom remain devoted to him.
In Seattle, Dr. Tapper orchestrated an enormous expansion of the Department of Surgery, increasing the size of the faculty from just three to more than 15 full-time pediatric surgical specialists. In addition, he started the Surgical Research program at Children’s with his National Institutes of Health-funded research that focused on protein growth factors that controlled cancer cell growth. Under his tutelage, five additional Children’s surgical faculty members successfully garnered NIH funding for their research.
As a teacher and mentor for young surgeons, Dr. Tapper was unsurpassed. He personally trained 16 pediatric surgeons, many of whom have become medical school faculty members themselves. As a sterling role model, he stimulated many University of Washington residents and medical students to enter the field of pediatric surgery. He was Chairman of the Resident Education Committee for the University of Washington Department of Surgery and a member of the national Residency Review Committee for Surgery. His expertise as a surgical educator was also recognized by election to the American Board of Surgery.
Nationally, Dr. Tapper was a revered leader whose wisdom and fairness led to his selection as President of the American Pediatric Surgical Association, President of the Seattle Surgical Society and Councilor of the Pacific Coast Surgical Association. He also held leadership positions in the American College of Surgeons and was one of only a few pediatric surgeons elected to the prestigious American Surgical Association.
Dr. Tapper was a member of Herzl-Ner Tamid Synagogue. Devoted to his family, he is survived by his loving wife of 34 years, Susan, their four children JoEllen, Erica, Jacalyn, and Aaron, mother Sylvia, sister Martha (Jerry) Benesch and brother Jeffrey (Barbara). He was preceded in death by his father, Herman.
Remembrances may be sent to The David Tapper Residents Fund, c/o UW Foundation, 1325 Fourth Ave. Suite 2000, Seattle, WA 98101.