Founded in 1946 as the “Department of Anesthesiology,” Cleveland Clinic Anesthesiology Institute has grown from a small group of 12 anesthesiologists to nearly 225 anesthesiologists, critical care specialists, and pain management specialists. Over the years the small Department evolved into a Division – with specialized Departments for CardioThoracic Anesthesiology, General Anesthesiology, Pediatric Anesthesiology, Pain Management, Regional Practice Anesthesiology, Anesthesiology Research, and Outcomes Research; and in 2007 became one of Cleveland Clinic’s Institutes. Throughout its history, the Anesthesiology Institute has been deeply involved in research, innovation and education as well as providing world-class patient care.
David L. Brown, MD, an anesthesiologist and a pain medicine physician, was appointed Institute Chair in June, 2008. Before taking his post at Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Brown led the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center as the Edward Rotan Distinguished Professor and Chairman. During his 30-year career, Dr. Brown also has practiced medicine and taught at universities and medical centers throughout the country, including the University of Washington, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Medical School, and the University of Iowa. He also served seven years as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps.
Dr. Brown earned a bachelor's degree in zoology from Iowa State, a bachelor's in medicine from the University of South Dakota and his medical degree from the University of Minnesota. He completed an internship at David Grant USAF Medical Center in California and a residency in anesthesiology at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center in Texas.
Dr. Brown has written hundreds of academic articles and has lectured at universities and medical centers across the country and world. He also has held leadership roles for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education/Anesthesiology RRC, the American Board of Anesthesiology, the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and the Association of University Anesthesiologists. He also has been editor-in-chief of the journal Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.
Dr. Brown's clinical expertise is in the field of regional anesthesia and pain medicine, and he still considers it a privilege to care for patients.
Dr. Michael Roizen, was appointed in 2005 and served until 2007, when he became the Chief Wellness Officer for Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Roizen has authored and co-authored more than 155 peer-reviewed publications, 100 book chapters, 40 editorials, and has 12 U.S. and multiple foreign patents to his credit. He has also authored two #1 New York Times Bestsellers (both of which displaced Harry Potter in 1999, and again in 2005, from #1 on the Amazon.com list) that deal with patient safety and motivate healthy behaviors. Both of these works arose from his emphasis on reducing perioperative risk by motivating healthier behavior of patients prior to and after surgery.
Dr. F. G. Estafanous was appointed in 1986 and served as chairman until 2005. Under the direction of Dr. Estafanous, the division grew significantly both on the main campus and at numerous regional sites. During his chairmanship, Dr. Estafanous served on the Cleveland Clinic Board of Governors and was active in professional organizations. Dr. Estafanos has published numerous publications in the areas of hypertension and cardiac anesthesia.
With an interest in critical care, Dr. Azmy Boutros, chairman from 1977-1986, was a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine of Cairo University. He developed and received accreditation for Cleveland Clinic's present anesthesiology residency program. He wrote many papers regarding patient monitoring and was very interested in critical care medicine.
Dr. John Viljoen, chairman from 1973 to 1976, was one of the founders of the Association of Cardiac Anesthesiologists. He also pioneered the use of IV nitroglycerin to prevent and control ischemia in the cardiac patient.
Dr. Kenneth Potter, chairman from 1970 to 1973, was credited with starting the first anesthesiology residency program in Ohio at Huron Road hospital and was very active nationally in the ASA.
In 1967, Dr. Carl Wasmuth became the department head. He was the first to use sodium nitroprusside for hypotensive anesthesia. He served as president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and as Chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Board of Governors.
Dr. Donald Hale, the first head of the department of anesthesia at Cleveland Clinic wrote the textbook Anesthesiology. Dr. Hale served as department head from 1946 to 1967. He was a graduate of the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania.