Obituary: Kevin D. Harrington MD (1938–2013)

Kevin D. Harrington MD (Fig. 1), a long-time member and Past President of the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons®, passed away on January 7, 2013. Fig. 1 Kevin D. Harrington MD is shown. Few orthopaedic surgeons make lasting contributions to our field, and rarely do they make more than one. Dr. Harrington was an exception. It is difficult to imagine the rudimentary surgical tools available to treat bone cancers in the late 1970s when he started to demonstrate his practical creativity. His novel approaches stood the test of time. He took the recent development of methylmethacrylate cement into the oncology realm, using it to augment fixation, resist tumor growth, and stem bleeding in pathological fractures of long bones. He used similar basic principles to revolutionize the treatment of acetabular metastases, and skeletal metastases. The approach of using Steinmann pins and cement to bypass areas of periacetabular deficiency has become an eponymous procedure. Dr. Harrington identified principles that are seemingly obvious now, but mystified his predecessors. His classic description that metastatic disease of the spine was based predominantly anteriorly in the vertebral body and should be treated by anterior decompression and instrumentation rather than laminectomy, has forever changed spine surgery. His simple spine reconstructions remain among the most economical, effective methods reported. Principles of economy, efficiency, and efficacy guided Dr. Harrington’s work. He adopted the concept of autoclaving resected sarcomatous periacetabular bone to recycle for hip reconstruction. This method is used worldwide, and is getting a new look in the United States due to FDA imposed limits on the manufacture of custom prostheses. Throughout his career, he took a critical approach to problems and procedures. For example, he first confessed the neurological consequences that can occur after vertebroplasty, and raised a clarion call to use careful technique for this new procedure. His simple yet profound contributions will live on. A San Francisco native, Dr. Harrington graduated from Lowell High School (1956), Yale University (1960), and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine with honors (1964). He interned at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in 1965, served 3 years in the US Army (1966–1969), and worked as an orthopaedic resident at UCSF (1969–1972). He was assistant chief of orthopaedic surgery at San Francisco County Hospital from 1972 to 1977 before entering private practice in San Francisco. Dr. Harrington volunteered at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Haiti and at the “Hole in the Wall Gang” camp, a no-fee program for youth with cancer and other serious illnesses, in Connecticut. Finally, after retiring from private practice in 2003, he committed his time, talent, and great enthusiasm to the Marin Community Clinics (MCC), where he spearheaded and expanded orthopaedic services to the underserved of Marin County. He was awarded the “Community Champion” award by the MCC in 2012 for his commitment to the ideal “all patients deserve quality care and attention no matter what their financial circumstances.” Kevin is survived by Margaret (Peggy) Harrington MD, his wife of 32 years, their five children, and other relatives.