Where The "High Fowler" Position Came From

After a long distinguished energetic and tireless twenty-six-year career, in 1888 George Ryerson Fowler became the chief of surgery at the Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. His accomplishments were so highly regarded that there was a statue erected in his honor on Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn, which has sadly disappeared.

Dr. Fowler came up with a now standard procedure in which a patient was seated in a semi-sitting position. Called the "High Fowler's Position", patients, for the first time, were placed at the head of the bed, their upper half of their body elevated between 60 degrees and 90 degrees in relation to the lower half.

This position was first used by Dr. Fowler after he operated on his pneumonectomy patients. It promoted oxygenation via maximum chest expansion and helped to relieve episodes of respiratory distress. Fowler's Position allowed for improved breathing by reducing the pressure of the chest from gravity.

So, thanks, Dr. Fowler. Even though you had nothing to do with The Snorinator, you still helped us figure out how to get back in our bedroom together! For that reason alone, plans are now underway to put up a replica of your lost statue in front of our house.