Samson named Professor Emeritus of Neurological Surgery

By Gregg Shields

Dr. Duke Samson, a renowned surgical innovator who developed UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Department of Neurosurgery into a world recognized leader while serving as its first chairman, has been appointed Professor Emeritus.

A faculty member since 1977, Dr. Samson served as Chief of the Division of Neurological Surgery in the Department of Surgery from 1985 to 1998, before it became an independent department at that time. He then served as Chairman through 2012.

“As a master surgeon, he has taught and inspired generations of fine neurosurgeons around the country in both private and academic practices, and his unique way of looking at neurological disease and technical problems has led to tremendous innovations that developed on this campus,” said Dr. Hunt Batjer, Chairman of Neurological Surgery, and Co-Director of the Texas Institute for Brain Injury and Repair at UT Southwestern. “His role as Professor Emeritus will ensure his continued presence within our Department and our campus, and will perpetuate his teaching roles for our students, residents, fellows, and faculty.”

Dr. Samson’s willingness to tackle the toughest cases – and his success in doing so – helped build UT Southwestern’s reputation as one of the nation’s best hospitals for neurological surgery. The standard he set as one of the world’s leading vascular neurosurgeons led to his selection as the 2011 recipient of the Patricia and William L. Watson Jr., M.D., Award for Excellence in Clinical Medicine. During his tenure as Chairman, Dr. Samson held the W. Kemp Clark Chair, established in honor of the division’s first chairman, as well as the Kimberly-Clark Distinguished Chair in Mobility Research and the Lois C.A. and Darwin E. Smith Distinguished Chair in Neurological Surgery. He also served as Director of the Mobility Foundation Center for Rehabilitation Research, a multidisciplinary center dedicated to clinical research in cerebrovascular disease and spinal cord injury.

Dr. Samson is considered a pioneer in methods of treating otherwise intractable injuries. He has, for example, used cyanoacrylate, or “super glue,” to block blood flow to malformed blood vessels. In 1990, Drs. Samson and Batjer created the “Dallas Technique,” an innovative surgical procedure to deflate intracranial aneurysms located close to the skull base, which allows them to be safely clipped.

“The quality and dedication of the doctors, residents, nurses, and staff at UT Southwestern has made coming to work every day a pleasure, while the opportunity to care for these patients at Parkland Memorial Hospital and Zale Lipshy University Hospital has been a tremendous gift,” Dr. Samson said.

Dr. Samson, also revered for his educational prowess, trained an entire generation of neurosurgeons at UT Southwestern, including Dr. Batjer and Dr. Bruce Mickey, Professor and Vice-Chairman of Neurosurgery, and Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery and Radiation Oncology.

“I have been blessed by the opportunity to have trained under Dr. Samson as a resident,” Dr. Batjer said. “After graduation I joined him on the faculty at UT Southwestern, and his mentorship continued through my early professional career. Dr. Samson was in every sense the start of the clinical transformation that has become a fundamental core value of our institution.” 

His leadership also was instrumental in developing Zale Lipshy University Hospital.

A Stanford University graduate, Dr. Samson attended medical school at Washington University, and completed a surgical internship at Duke University Medical Center. He completed a neurosurgical residency at UT Southwestern, highlighted by a fellowship with Dr. Gerard Guiot in Paris and Dr. Mahmut Gazi Yaargil in Zurich. Dr. Samson served in the United States Army Medical Corps. 

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Dr. Batjer holds the Lois C.A. and Darwin E. Smith Distinguished Chair in Neurological Surgery.

Dr. Mickey holds the William Kemp Clark Chair of Neurological Surgery.