UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #670
YALE, CHARLES E.

YALE, Charles E.  (1925- )
Professor of surgery; Vice-Chairman, Department of Surgery; Director, University of Wisconsin Gnotobiotic Laboratory
At UW: 1964-1991

Interviewed: 2004	
Interviewer: Ann Peckham
Length: 1 hour

Early years and education; Naval aviator; Standard Oil Research Laboratory; Western Reserve University Medical School; Residency at the University of Cincinnati; VA Hospital; Hiring by the University of Wisconsin; Research on intestinal strangulation in germ-free animals; University of Wisconsin Gnotobiotic Laboratory; Practice at the University Hospital; Medical School administration and practice plan; Gastric surgery; Health care.

First Interview Session (March 26, 2004): Tape

Tape 1/Side 1

00:00:24	Charles Yale discusses his parents' careers and his early years in Amboy, Illinois. He speaks about his interest in agriculture and membership in the local 4-H Club.

00:03:26	In 1942, he matriculated at the University of Illinois in the engineering physics program. He was called into active duty in July 1943.

00:04:31	CY describes his high school activities and curriculum and his enjoyment of agriculture. His mother's cousin, a general practitioner, took him on a tour of Cook County Hospital.

00:05:57	He became a naval aviator and remained in the Navy until 1947. During this time he undertook advanced training in Florida and Kansas and then was assigned to a squadron on Okinawa.

00:08:24	After leaving the Navy in 1947, CY resumed his progress toward a degree in engineering physics, which he received in 1949. He was hired by the Standard Oil Research Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio. His wife, Helen, worked in the pharmacology department at Case University Medical School.

00:11:00	CY relates how he decided to enroll in medical school at Western Reserve University in 1951; he graduated in 1955. He then went to the University of Cincinnati to do his rotating internship in surgery, pediatrics, and medicine at Cincinnati General Hospital. He did his residency in Cincinnati for six years.

00:15:02	The teaching he received was that of the "Hopkins school," which emphasized that surgeons should have broad medical capabilities. He goes on to describe his activities and responsibilities as a resident and his thesis on intestinal strangulation. He received a doctorate of science degree from Cincinnati in 1961.

00:19:14	CY accepted a fellowship as a clinical investigator in surgery through the VA Hospital from 1962-64. He and his family lived in Fort Thomas, Kentucky.

00:21:02	He relates how he came to Wisconsin. Robert Hickey, chairman of the department of surgery at the University of Wisconsin, interviewed him to be an assistant professor of surgery. CY was particularly attracted by the opportunity to continue his research on intestinal strangulation in germ-free animals.

00:25:03	An NIH grant to conduct his research enabled him to establish the University of Wisconsin Gnotobiotic Laboratory. He talks about the numerous locations and facilities of the lab. He served as director of the lab until 1980 and describes his successor, Dr. Ed Balish.

00:29:14	End of side.  

Tape 1/Side 2

00:29:19	Charles Yale further discusses his research on arterial and venal strangulation, which he largely carried out from 1965-1980.

00:33:00	He describes how the University Hospital limited the number of patients it accepted and how this created budgetary problems for surgeons.

00:36:20	He describes the tumult in the administration of the Medical School over how the clinical faculty should be supported. CY thought he would have to practice elsewhere in order to make enough money. He became involved in the department's practice plan, which studied how income from clinical practice would be distributed to faculty members and departments.

00:39:13	CY lists some of his other activities in the surgery department, including the recruitment of a transplant surgeon and a new dean, and the division of surgical responsibilities among the general surgeons. He took on responsibility for vascular surgery and discusses at length his treatment of the morbidly obese through intestinal bypass surgery and other procedures.

00:45:01	He thinks some surgeons are ill-prepared to carry out this procedure and do not do an adequate job of following-up with their patients. He notes the resurgence of surgery for morbid obesity from about the year 2000.

00:50:24	CY describes his service on the admissions committee in the Medical School and his vice-chairmanship of the department of surgery. 

00:51:39	He thinks that the Medical School has a reputation as a progressive clinical school.

00:54:04	Ann Peckham questions CY about her sense of discontent among patients and doctors. CY attributes this to some lingering emphasis on research (as opposed to clinical practice), but overall praises the quality of the Medical School's departments and faculty. He also thinks that the public always wants the most health care possible as long as someone else pays for it.

00:59:22	CY offers some closing comments on his family's life and his career in Madison.

01:00:00	End of side. End of tape. End of interview.

END