News

In Memoriam

It is with deepest sorrow that the New York Thyroid Center announces the passing of our esteemed friend and co-director, the heart and soul of our Center, Dr. Paul LoGerfo. Dr. LoGerfo was a small town boy from a farm in upstate New York. He was one of three brilliant brothers, all of whom became prominent physicians and professors. Dr. LoGerfo was a world-renowned leader in the field of thyroid and parathyroid surgery. Throughout his career, his focus was to improve the quality of life for his patients and to work toward prevention of disease. In 1977, he developed the thyroglobulin assay, which remains one of the most commonly used methods for detecting recurrent thyroid cancer. In the mid 1980s, Dr. LoGerfo pioneered the field of thyroid and parathyroid surgery by developing a technique for using local anesthesia. He was the only surgeon who routinely performed these procedures on an outpatient basis. He also developed the coarse needle thyroid biopsy which can provide a more definitive diagnosis of a thyroid nodule and thus avoid unnecessary surgery.

In 1990, Dr. LoGerfo established a thyroid registry which continues to bank all thyroid operations performed at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and is an invaluable resource for outcomes research. When he became chief of the Division of Surgical Specialties, he implemented similar databases for other specialties within his Division. His vision was to develop a centralized databank that would provide worldwide outcomes data particularly for rare diseases of the thyroid and parathyroid.

In 1994, he established the New York Thyroid Center, a comprehensive center dedicated to providing superior medical care and education for patients with thyroid disease. The functions of the Center include weekly thyroid conferences, maintenance the thyroid registry, and also patient education through its extensive website as well as national outreach and referral service. Dr. LoGerfo also collaborated on The Thyroid Guide, a comprehensive guide intended to empower patients through education about their thyroid condition so they could play an active role in their own treatment decisions.

But even bigger than his illustrious career, was Dr. LoGerfo's heart. He was a wonderful source of energy who was incredibly generous, considerate and humorous. He was adored by patients and staff, as well as his students, residents and colleagues. His compassion for his patients was expressed not only in his personal care, but also in his art. Dr. LoGerfo was also an artist whose work was inspired by the sincere sorrow he felt when he lost a patient to cancer. He began creating large wooden sculptures, incorporating visible DNA which he considered the core of a person's true identity. He described his sculptures as portraying the "wonderful spirits of [his] patients which always shine through, despite the illness that their bodies endure." His works have appeared in several galleries around the country.

Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to his wife, Kristin Larkin LoGerfo, his father, Mr. Paul LoGerfo, his brothers, Dr. Frank LoGerfo and Dr. James LoGerfo, his daughters, Susan Goetz and Cathy Haims, and three grandchildren. We all miss our friend very deeply.