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Dr. Walter G. Wolfe, MD (1937-2020), emeritus faculty member and a Duke cardiothoracic surgeon, led the cardiac surgery program at the Veterans Administration (VA) turning the struggling VA program into one of the most successful in the country. During his more than 50 year tenure at Duke, he was a cardiothoracic surgeon, clinician researcher, teacher, and mentor. This collection contains 2 oral history interviews conducted on July 14, 1994 by Dr. James F. Gifford and June 5, 2019 by Susannah Roberson as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. In the 1994 interview, Wolfe discusses his career, work of the Pulmonary Physiology Laboratory of which Wolfe was the director, the structure of the Department of Surgery, and the evolution of the Department of Surgery. In the 2019 interview, Wolfe discusses his early life, education, why he decided to join the medical profession, how he came to complete his residency at Duke, his different roles during his career at Duke, what it was like to work for and with Sabiston, and his memories of Sabiston.

Dr. Walter G. Wolfe, MD, Emeritus Professor of Surgery and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Chief of Surgical Services at the Durham VA Medical Center was a cardiothoracic surgeon, clinician researcher, teacher, and mentor during his more than 50 year career at Duke. In 2015, by virtue of his exceptional contributions to Duke Surgery, Wolfe was designated a Master Surgeon. This collection includes Wolfe's professional materials. The bulk of the materials are slides documenting his pathologies and surgeries. The collection also contains photographic prints, negatives, and a small amount of correspondence, printed materials, and presentations. Materials date from 1965 to 1998.