Arthur Vidrine (December 20, 1896 - December 20, 1955) was a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

from Ville Platte, the seat of

Evangeline Parish Evangeline Parish () is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. the population was 32,350. The parish seat is Ville Platte. History The parish was created out of lands formerly belonging to St. Landry Parish in 1910. The majority ...

in south

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, who was best known for having operated on Democratic

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Huey Pierce Long Jr. Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination i ...

, after Long was shot on September 8, 1935, in the

Louisiana State Capitol The Louisiana State Capitol () is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Louisiana and is located in downtown Baton Rouge. The capitol houses the chambers for the Louisiana State Legislature, made up of the House of Representatives and the ...

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, presumably by another young physician, Carl A. Weiss. A veteran of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Vidrine was educated at

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

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, the

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(where he was a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

), and at hospitals in

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and

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. Then

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Long first appointed Vidrine superintendent of Charity Hospital in New Orleans. Then in May 1931, Long named Vidrine dean of the newly established

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Medical School in New Orleans. After Senator Long was shot, Vidrine performed an operation to repair two small wounds in the colon. He then sutured the abdomen closed. Two surgical experts who had been called from New Orleans to operate on Long were delayed by an

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

accident. Vidrine was later criticized by other doctors for having failed to recognize a

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

wound that caused internal bleeding and which ultimately led to Long's death. However, due to the lack of technology at the time, it was easier to make that mistake. He also operated under extreme pressure and was unable to operate well with the added stress of such a high profile patient. Vidrine left New Orleans due to the mishap and resided in Ville Platte, Louisiana with his family. He now has one remaining child of 3, his eldest daughter and child. His family moved back to New Orleans while he lived in Ville Platte, visiting each other often.

References

Sources

'Double Bed Charity', ''Time'' (29 November 1937)
*Richard D. White, Jr., ''Kingfish'' (New York: Random House, 2006), pp. 50, 265, 268 *Glen Jeansonne, ''Messiah of the Masses: Huey P. Long and the Great Depression'' (New York: Longman, 1993), p. 175 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vidrine, Arthur American Rhodes Scholars Tulane University alumni 1955 deaths 1896 births American military personnel of World War I Physicians from New Orleans People from Ville Platte, Louisiana

See also

References

Sources