The Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University has named its temporal bone laboratory after Dr. James T. Lowe, Jr., a 1969 graduate and otolaryngologist from Macon who died in a plane crash in 1983. The lab’s new designation is the result of a donation from Dr. James E. Bush, a childhood friend and classmate of Dr. Lowe.
“Jim worked hard in medical school, and it was so tragic that he perished shortly after starting his own practice,” said Bush, an otolaryngologist with Sharp Healthcare in San Diego. “I wanted to thank MCG for giving me an opportunity to have a good profession and a good life, and that’s the reason I dedicated the lab to Jim,” Bush told attendees at the October naming celebration.
The temporal bone is essential for functions such as hearing, chewing, and facial expressions because it houses the middle ear and ear canal while anchoring key muscles. Otolaryngologists must master its complex anatomy through years of study.
“Ear surgery is so intricate. You can’t really learn it by watching or by assisting in an actual surgery,” said Christopher Johnson, MD, associate professor and residency program director for the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at MCG. “The level of difficulty is high, and you really have to practice in the simulation lab before you do that kind of surgery on a patient.”
The Dr. James T. Lowe, Jr. Temporal Bone Lab offers residents hands-on experience with procedures like middle ear surgery and cochlear implantation.
“This lab is where the next generation of otolaryngologists will learn the anatomy that defines our specialty,” said Stil E. Kountakis, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the department as well as Edward S. Porubsky Distinguished Chair in Otolaryngology. “The anatomy of the temporal bone is where precision begins. And now it carries the name of someone who practiced our craft with skill and heart. We are here to recognize Dr. Lowe, and we are grateful to Dr. James Bush for making it happen.”
Members of Dr. Lowe’s family attended the event, including his daughter Sarah Lowe.
“As a daughter and a sibling, I want to extend my utmost appreciation to Dr. Bush for catalyzing the reason we are all gathered here,” Sarah Lowe shared at the ceremony. “When I first told my mom about this lab, her response was that she wished it had been here when they lived here so she wouldn’t have had to dust so many bone fragments off their dining room table.
“To be gathered here today, knowing his hard work, his passion for his job and his dedication to his patients is being honored through a lab that aims to teach others, is a gift of a magnitude that I can’t even begin to describe,” she continued. “Our family will always know that this lab is here, and we will always be grateful for the dedication of the team here who put it together and to Dr. Bush for your incredible generosity.”
