Celebrating a Life: James L. Sheehy, M.D., 1926 - 2006
James L. Sheehy, M.D., an ear specialist with the renowned House Clinic (House Ear Clinic) for 45 years, passed away on March 22, 2006, at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California.
A prominent physician and one of the founding members of the Otologic Medical Group that later became the House Ear Clinic, Dr. Sheehy was recognized throughout his career for outstanding accomplishments and distinguished service in the field of Otology. A recipient of the American Otological Society Award of Merit, Dr. Sheehy defined lateral surface tympanoplasty techniques to deliver more reliable results for patients and wrote many well-received papers on hearing health and ear surgery. Along with his colleague, Dr. Howard P. House, Dr. Sheehy was known for exceptional leadership in ear surgery. He was an outstanding teacher of surgical otology at the House Clinic, House Ear Institute, the University of Southern California. He was instrumental in the production of countless teaching video tapes. He lectured around the world on the topics of vertigo, tympanoplasty and stapedectomy, and taught many courses at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, including presentations on slide preparation and scientific writing.
Dr. Sheehy was one of the first physicians to perform outcomes research, and helped define how clinical otologic research should be performed. His data collection techniques at the House Clinic captured prospective clinical information at a time when few people in the medical field talked about clinical trials. Working many hours to collate and analyze data before the age of computers, Dr. Sheehy established the basic template for data collection that is still used in most otology clinics worldwide.
A 1951 graduate of Stanford University Medical School, he completed his Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) residency at Letterman Army Hospital, Presidio, San Francisco. He also served as an officer in the United States Medical Corps, and was a member and president of the Pacific Coast Oto-Opthalmological Society.
Dr. Sheehy is survived by Vye, his wife of 55 years, three sons, William, Theodore and Thomas, three grandchildren, Nicholas, Christopher and Stephen, and a brother, Dr. Harry Sheehy of Chicago. In lieu of flowers his family requests that a memorial donation be sent to the House Clinic in Los Angeles
(213) 483-4431.
