John Loeser: The Man Who Reimagined Pain

Dr. John Loeser will be remembered for his founding and sustained leadership in the field of

pain medicine. Yet, before the field of pain medicine even existed, he was a highly respected

neurosurgeon, co-author of the definitive text on neuroembryology, a decorated Vietnam

veteran, husband and a father of three. When he became swept up into the pain world, the

idea that pain management should be a medical discipline was new. The founders of the

discipline believed that medicine could do a much better job of reducing people's physical pain

(pain felt in the body) using better diagnostics, newer technologies, better knowledge of pain

mechanisms and processes, focused pain interventions, and newly developed drugs. There

was much excitement in the air because the participants strongly believed that they were on

the road to significantly reducing human suffering. But as with many grand initiatives,

mistakes were made, some of which caused iatrogenic harm. John Loeser's great strength was

that, despite sharing all initial enthusiasms, he always recognized when assumptions had been

wrong, and spoke out early and clearly. Today, four decades after the heady days of the

founding of pain medicine, one can ponder what those four decades have achieved. In fact,

despite setbacks, what has been achieved is much more than was even hoped for: science has

provided important insight into the mysteries of pain. This insight is already helping those who

suffer pain through improved channeling of resources, avoidance of iatrogenic harm, and

realistic expectations. As the story of John Loeser unfolds in this book, so does the story of pain

medicine. That link exists because John's involvement in pain medicine has spanned its history,

and so has become his primary identity.

The manuscript is complete.