Edwin Westby Amyes<br/>November 2, 1920 - September 10, 2014
Dr. Edwin Amyes enjoyed a long and successful career as a neurological surgeon. He is remembered for his many altruistic contributions to the community and his profession.
Edwin was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and came to the United States with his parents in 1921. He graduated from Pacific Union College in 1941, and received his medical degree from Loma Linda University (LLU) in 1944, with dual residencies in neurology and psychiatry. He was a Diplomat of the American Board of Neurological Surgeons and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS).
He enlisted in the Army in 1945 and attended the Army School of Military Neuropsychiatry. As a first lieutenant, he became the Chief Operating Officer of the Psychiatry and Neurology Unit.
Following discharge, his career included positions as Resident/Chief Resident, Neurology, at L.A. County Hospital and White Memorial Hospital, Senior Neurosurgeon at St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood, Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgeons at LLU and Senior Surgeon on that university’s services at the L.A. County Hospital. From 1953 to 1967, he served as Chief Neurological Surgeon at Rancho Los Amigos in Downey.
Along with establishing his practice in Orange County in 1966, he was an Associate Clinical Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, Irvine. He was a member of the Senior Neurosurgical Staff at Hoag Hospital, Newport Beach, from 1968-1990, and in 2001 he was named an Honorary Staff Member there. Edwin was a pioneer of what is today’s Hoag Neurosciences Institute.
His influence was far reaching. In 1980, he received the Exceptional and Distinguished Service Award from the Congress of Neurological Surgeons for founding the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies (CSNS), for sponsoring nearly 40 new state societies, and for spearheading the actions that led to the formation of a physician-owned medical liability insurance company. In 2008, he was presented with the CSNS Leibrock Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his tireless dedication.
Edwin was an avid reader, researcher and writer. He is credited with developing the National Practice Standards for Neurosurgical Fees, authoring the first edition of national guidelines for the practice of neurosurgery, and taking an active role in the creation of the Orange County Emergency Medical/Paramedic System and Trauma Centers in the 1970s.
He died of natural causes at his home in Corona del Mar at the age of 93. He is survived by his children, Nina and Christopher, and his loving wife, Louise.