Dr Sigmund Ein

Dr Sigmund Ein (known to all as Siggie) died on 25 January 2015.

He was appointed as Paediatric Surgeon to the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in 1969 and remained there until his retirement in 2004 –  a total of 35 Years service. Even after his retirement, he remained as an Honorary Member of Staff and Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and regularly attended meeting at SickKids and assisted fellows with operative procedures.

He was totally focused on the care and well-being of his patients and their families. He was a gifted teacher and a powerful role model and inspiration for numerous generations of trainees. Siggie was internationally renowned for documenting the natural history and non-operative management particularly of blunt splenic trauma, a method which was to be adopted by adult trauma surgeons. He presented the long-term follow-up of appendicitis, pyloric stenosis, sacrococcygeal teratoma and 6361 inguinal herniotomies over a 35 year period.

Dr Ein was president of the Canadian Association of Pediatric Surgeons and he and his wife, Arlene, virtually ran the Association for many years. In his honour the annual Simpson Memorial Lecture was renamed the Simpson/Ein Lecture. He was often compere at the Case Discussion session at the AAP. He regularly attended the annual BAPS meetings.

Siggie was an avid supporter of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team; he even took me to a game, which I found quiet boring! I was touched when, unannounced, he spoke at my retirement dinner in 2004 making his customary hilarious speech and presenting me with a Blue Jays cap.
Dr Ein was essentially a family man. He was often quoted as saying “Happy Wife, Happy Life”. He leaves his wife, Arlene, 4 children and 11 grandchildren.

Lewis Spitz