Our fellow wound care leader, Dr Robert A. Warriner III, passed away on August 22, 2012, at the age of 62, following a 6-year valiant struggle against multiple myeloma. He had been a patient at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. We've learned that Dr Warriner was first diagnosed in 2006, underwent an autologous stem cell transplantation in August 2006, and experienced a relapse a year later. In keeping with his reputation as a quintessential scholar, clinician, and teacher, he continued to see value in examining his cancer, not only as a physician, but in his experiencing the secondary complications of the cancer treatment itself-such as peripheral neuropathies and daily abdominal pain.
"Sometimes preventing and managing the side effects becomes more important than managing the underlying cancer itself," Dr Warriner said.
Because of his ongoing advocacy for patients, Dr Warriner participated in a colloquium with the National Cancer Institute and MD Anderson in 2011 to increase awareness of cancer treatment toxicities and their effect on patients. He was regarded as a patient advocate and a "crucial voice in these discussions."
Dr Warriner held many leadership positions, including most recently as chief medical officer of Healogics, Jacksonville, Florida. He was highly regarded in the wound care and hyperbaric community. He received numerous awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Union of Wound Healing Societies in 2008 and the Sharon Baranoski Founder's Award in 2009, which recognized him as an expert in wound care treatment and disease management.
He was a graduate of Tulane University and Vanderbilt School of Medicine. He served our country as a medical officer in the US Air Force and was named Emeritus Medical Director of the Southeast Texas Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Conroe Regional Medical Center, Conroe, Texas. Dr Warriner was trained in anesthesiology at Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation in New Orleans, Louisiana, and as a clinical fellow in critical care medicine in the Department of Anesthesia, Beth Israel Hospital, at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. His subspecialties included critical care medicine, wound care, and hyperbaric medicine. He also participated in numerous wound care outreach programs around the globe.
Dr Warriner is survived by his wife of 36 years, Karen, and their children and grandchildren. We will greatly miss him in the wound care community. But his contributions to wound care will continue on as his outstanding influence and leadership have charted new heights for us all to achieve.
Richard "Sal" Salcido, MD