Carter, Sylvester P.

Sylvester Carter was a prominent hand surgeon and one of the first surgeons to perform a replanation of a severed hand. He also pioneered in the treatment of severed hand tendons.

Carter was born in Massachusetts in 1908 and originally began studying for a career as a concert singer in the Boston Conservatory of Music. After receiving a Bachelor's degree from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, he decided to go into medicine. In 1939 Carter received his M.D. degree from Boston University. He interned at Massachusetts Memorial Hospital and Harlem Hospital, New York. In the 1940's he became interested in surgery of the hand; in 1959 he established a hand clinic and became Director of Hand Surgery at Flower Fifth Avenue and New York Medical College. An accomplished photographer, Carter produced a film on advanced surgical techniques on the hand.

Carter also was involved in a wide range of public service activities, among them, Medical Director of the Crossroads Africa program, member of the Advisory Board of the Foundation for Research and Education in Sickle Cell Anemia, and the Board of Directors of Municipal Concerts. He was a frequent contributor to medical journals and wrote a book, "Virus Infections of the Hand." Carter died in 1986.