Ira Rutkow, age 77, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away on January 16, 2026, two months after being diagnosed with advanced bile duct cancer. Born on October 13, 1948, in Newark, New Jersey, Ira dedicated his life to the practice of surgery and the study of medical and surgical history. After graduating from Union College (New York) he earned his medical degree from St. Louis University and trained as a general surgeon at Johns Hopkins. He went on to receive an MPH and doctorate from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, setting the stage for a remarkable career that blended clinical expertise with a passion for historical scholarship.
Ira was an entrepreneur and innovator. In the mid-1980s, he established the Hernia Center, a novel approach to patient care that would serve as a model for countless practitioners. He built and oversaw a free-standing medical complex containing a full-service operating room. While running the Hernia Center, he developed and patented a mesh plug that became a standard approach for modern hernia repair. Surgeons from around the world trained with him at the Hernia Center to learn and adopt his method.
In addition, Ira authored eight influential books, including his latest, Empire of the Scalpel: The History of Surgery (2022), which was an Editor's Choice in the New York Times Book Review. His other notable works include Seeking the Cure: A History of Medicine in America (2010); James A. Garfield (2006), part of Times Books' American Presidents series edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr; Bleeding Blue and Gray: Civil War Surgery and the Evolution of American Medicine (2005); American Surgery: An Illustrated History (1998); Surgery: An Illustrated History (1993), named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; and a two-volume bibliography, The History of Surgery in the United States (1992 and 1988). He was not only a prolific author but also served as an editor for multiple surgical textbooks and contributed numerous articles to professional journals.
Ira's achievements earned him several prestigious awards, including the American Medical Writers Association Medical Book Award (1998) and the Fletcher Pratt Literary Award of the Civil War Roundtable of New York (2005). He was inducted into the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars (2003) and awarded Union College's Founders' Medal (2007) as well as St. Louis University School of Medicine's Alumni Merit Award (2015). His passion for history and medicine will live on through his writings and the many lives he touched throughout his career.
Ira was an avid collector of rare and unique surgical and hernia texts as well as nineteenth-century surgical instrument sets.
Ira's warmth, humor, and wisdom will be remembered by his friends, colleagues, and his cherished family, including his wife of 54 years, Beth; children, Lainie and Eric; son-in-law, Adam Spira; daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Herman; and his beloved grandsons, Alex Spira and Benjamin Rutkow.
With his wife Beth, Ira loved splitting his time between New York City and a farm in the Hudson Valley and spending time with friends and family. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.
Contributions in Ira's memory may be made to the hospice that cared for him in his final days, Gilchrist Center Towson (Maryland), or a charity of your choice.
Ira was an entrepreneur and innovator. In the mid-1980s, he established the Hernia Center, a novel approach to patient care that would serve as a model for countless practitioners. He built and oversaw a free-standing medical complex containing a full-service operating room. While running the Hernia Center, he developed and patented a mesh plug that became a standard approach for modern hernia repair. Surgeons from around the world trained with him at the Hernia Center to learn and adopt his method.
In addition, Ira authored eight influential books, including his latest, Empire of the Scalpel: The History of Surgery (2022), which was an Editor's Choice in the New York Times Book Review. His other notable works include Seeking the Cure: A History of Medicine in America (2010); James A. Garfield (2006), part of Times Books' American Presidents series edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr; Bleeding Blue and Gray: Civil War Surgery and the Evolution of American Medicine (2005); American Surgery: An Illustrated History (1998); Surgery: An Illustrated History (1993), named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; and a two-volume bibliography, The History of Surgery in the United States (1992 and 1988). He was not only a prolific author but also served as an editor for multiple surgical textbooks and contributed numerous articles to professional journals.
Ira's achievements earned him several prestigious awards, including the American Medical Writers Association Medical Book Award (1998) and the Fletcher Pratt Literary Award of the Civil War Roundtable of New York (2005). He was inducted into the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars (2003) and awarded Union College's Founders' Medal (2007) as well as St. Louis University School of Medicine's Alumni Merit Award (2015). His passion for history and medicine will live on through his writings and the many lives he touched throughout his career.
Ira was an avid collector of rare and unique surgical and hernia texts as well as nineteenth-century surgical instrument sets.
Ira's warmth, humor, and wisdom will be remembered by his friends, colleagues, and his cherished family, including his wife of 54 years, Beth; children, Lainie and Eric; son-in-law, Adam Spira; daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Herman; and his beloved grandsons, Alex Spira and Benjamin Rutkow.
With his wife Beth, Ira loved splitting his time between New York City and a farm in the Hudson Valley and spending time with friends and family. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.
Contributions in Ira's memory may be made to the hospice that cared for him in his final days, Gilchrist Center Towson (Maryland), or a charity of your choice.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Ira Rutkow, please visit our flower store.
Ira Rutkow's Guestbook
Visits: 33
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors