Date and place of birth: Galashiels, 24 August 1939
E. Douglas Whitehead was an eminent Urologist who was recognised for developing several procedures in the phalloplasty surgery field.
Born in Galashiels to George and Erica Whitehead, he moved to Yorkshire in 1945 before emigrating to the USA where he graduated from Long Beach High School, Vanderbilt University, and Indiana University School of Medicine.
He served his Internship in Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, one year Surgical Residency at Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital, Chicago, and his Urology Residency at New York University Medical Center, New York. He spent three months in London studying urological surgery and received a Certificate of Post-Graduate Urological Instruction from the Institute of Urology, University of London.
Dr Whitehead served as a Captain in the USAF (Medical Corps) including one year in Vietnam and in 1973, he entered the private practice of Urology in New York.
A researcher and consultant to his industry, he was a prominent teacher and published author.
He was an Associate Clinical Professor of Urology at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York and later at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, and was Board Certified in Urology. He was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and Sexual Medicine Society of North America, and was on the Attending Staff of Beth Israel Medical Center and New York Downtown Hospital, New York.
Throughout his professional career Dr Whitehead was a leader in Erectile Dysfunction and Aesthetic and Reconstructive Genital Surgery and a pioneer in the field of pericavernosal allograft dermal matrix grafting. He had two patents for penile prosthetic devices.
He belonged to and contributed to many professional organisations and societies, and in addition to many other high-profile positions, was President of the American Academy of Phalloplasty Surgeons. He died in 2013 and a plaque commemorating his life can be found in Glenfield Terrace, Galashiels.
