Page 87

“…his chin to sag or collapse…”

“Osteo-Sarcoma of the Lower Jaw—Resection of the Body of the Bone—Cure,” J. Marion Sims, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Vol. 11, 1846, p. 131.

“Sam was still recovering…”

Sam’s initial operation was on May 15 (See “…May 15, 1845” above), and he remained at Sims’s hospital until mid-July. George returned and was operated on for the second time nine days after Sam’s operation.

“Removal of the Superior Maxilla for a Tumour of the Antrum; Apparent Cure. Return of the Disease. Second Operation. Sequel,” J. Marion Sims, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Vol. 13, 1847, p. 313.

“Osteo-Sarcoma of the Lower Jaw—Resection of the Body of the Bone—Cure,” J. Marion Sims, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Vol. 11, 1846, p. 130.

“…looked a horror.”

Sims describes George’s condition at length.

“Removal of the Superior Maxilla for a Tumour of the Antrum; Apparent Cure. Return of the Disease. Second Operation. Sequel,” J. Marion Sims, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Vol. 13, 1847, p. 312.

“The operation lasted ninety minutes…”

“Removal of the Superior Maxilla for a Tumour of the Antrum; Apparent Cure. Return of the Disease. Second Operation. Sequel,” J. Marion Sims, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Vol. 13, 1847, p. 313.

“…the base of the boy’s brain.”

“Removal of the Superior Maxilla for a Tumour of the Antrum; Apparent Cure. Return of the Disease. Second Operation. Sequel,” J. Marion Sims, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Vol. 13, 1847, p. 313.

“…the sponge invited it.”

“Removal of the Superior Maxilla for a Tumour of the Antrum; Apparent Cure. Return of the Disease. Second Operation. Sequel,” J. Marion Sims, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Vol. 13, 1847, p. 311.

“…nearly died.”

“Removal of the Superior Maxilla for a Tumour of the Antrum; Apparent Cure. Return of the Disease. Second Operation. Sequel,” J. Marion Sims, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Vol. 13, 1847, p. 313.

“…the mass had begun to reappear…”

“Removal of the Superior Maxilla for a Tumour of the Antrum; Apparent Cure. Return of the Disease. Second Operation. Sequel,” J. Marion Sims, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Vol. 13, 1847, p. 314.

“…nearly left medicine completely.”

Sims spoke rarely and fleetingly of his siblings, and details of them are surprisingly hard to come by. Later letters do indicate that one or more of his brothers became n’er-do-wells, and Sims offers money later in life. He does not specify that the opportunity in Mississippi came about as a result of the death of his brother—or of another many who happened to be named Sims—so I have made an inference here. Why else would Sims suddenly receive an offer to enter into a business he knows nothing about, in a place he has never lived?

SIMS, J. Marion, (1885). The Story of my Life, ed. by H. Marion-Sims. D. Appleton & Co: New York, p. 193.

The advertisement included in the print book appeared in the Vicksburg Daily Whig (Vicksburg, MS), September 28, 1839, p. 2.

“…child was on the way…$3000 per year.”

SIMS, J. Marion, (1885). The Story of my Life, ed. by H. Marion-Sims. D. Appleton & Co: New York, p. 194.

“…unclear how his career might advance…”

Sims was doing much better than average physicians in Alabama—it’s clear that he was idolizing those who were wildly successful, and the steps he took subsequently reveal an overriding financial motivation that stands in stark contrast to later claims that Sims embarked on experimental surgery for altruistic reasons.

Holley, H. L., & Waters, A. L. (1982). The history of medicine in alabama. Birmingham: University of Alabama Press, p. 6.

“…a collapse in cotton prices…”

Wooten’s diary reveals how the Panic of 1837 hit doctors in Alabama.

Hardy Vickers Wooten: Diaries, 1813-1856, p. 56, held at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery, Alabama. Although Wooten was not in Philadelphia at precisely the same time as Sims, they became colleagues and friends in Alabama.