Straith Hospital

Shortly after World War I, a group of physicians came together in Paris, France to pool information, experiences and techniques gained and developed on the still smoldering battlefields of Europe. Among the participants in this important series of sessions was Dr. Claire L. Straith, a young Michigan physician only recently out of uniform himself and determined to dedicate his career to the infant field of plastic surgery.

To this end he had already achieved degrees in both medicine and oral surgery. In the years that followed, Dr. Straith steadily built a reputation as one of the world's leading and most innovative plastic surgeons. When specialized instruments were needed but did not exist, he designed them. The suturing method he devised to leave the least possible scarring has been taught to a countless number of doctors.