Dr. John R. Bookwalter is an inventor and Independent Medical Devices Professional globally recognized as a pioneer in the field of modern surgery. With over 36 years of experience in the medical field, he is a celebrated surgeon and innovator. His invention, the Bookwalter Retractor, is the most popular retractor system for holding open abdominal incisions, and has become a staple of surgical instruments, used in almost every American hospital for the past 25 years. Dr Bookwalter's guiding principle for the retractor has been “Continuous improvement with backward compatibility”

After earning a degree cum laude from Amherst College in Massachusetts, Dr. Bookwalter went on to complete his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. He trained at Boston City Hospital (now Boston Medical Center) as a general surgeon, studying under top surgeons including Cornelius E. Sedgwick, MD, Lew Pernokas MD, and William V. McDermott MD.

Dr. Bookwalter’s original mentor and role model was his father, a general practitioner in Columbiana, Ohio. As a youth, his father included him on house call rounds, and instilled in his son the idea that, “It is a privilege to take care of sick people.” Dr. Bookwalter’s grandfather was also a physician, who delivered 5,000 babies during his career, and taught his grandson to “take care of each patient as if they were a member of your family.”

Dr. Bookwalter is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the New England Vascular Society, and The New England Surgical Society. He has spoken at industry conferences and events to his colleagues and the community on the prevention of disease and the development of the Bookwalter Retractor. His work has also been published in several surgical journals.

In addition to dedicating a career to serving the needs of his patients, Dr. Bookwalter also served his country in the Army from 1970-1972 on active duty, and in the Army Reserves for several years, retiring with the rank of full Colonel.  In 2014, he retired from private practice and committed himself to inspiring new ideas and innovation in the improvement of surgical procedures and general surgical instruments.  He is currently working on ideas that will lead to new instruments for laparoscopic surgical procedures.

International Society of Business Leaders Member John R. Bookwalter, MD can be found on the Society Directory, where he is looking forward to networking with you.