In March of 1963, a committee within the Milwaukee Surgical Society met to discuss the potential for a new independent society of surgeons as “a means to exchange ideas among our fellow surgeons, promote more published papers by active surgeons, and…[have] a local organization of general surgeons with mutual interests and problems.” They tentatively called the anticipated/planned group the “Milwaukee Association of Surgeons.”

Met with enthusiasm, the organizing committee, formally called “The Organizing Committee for a Society of General Surgeons,” discussed for several months the purpose of the society and moved forward with its formation.

The organizing committee proposed the name “Milwaukee Academy of Surgery” in July of 1963, at their last meeting. Once the founding Academy members were determined, the date and place were set for the first meeting: Children’s Hospital in the Stanley Seeger Auditorium.

The first-ever scientific meeting occurred on October 21, 1963. Since then, the Milwaukee Academy of Surgery has welcomed many surgeons in the area and has hosted nationally and internationally known physicians and surgeons to speak at the meetings (view past speakers). It has continued to serve as a forum for the exchange of surgical thought, experience, and information in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The Academy has regular meetings to foster discussion and improvements in the science and art of surgery, the ultimate goal being the betterment of patient care.