Howard University celebrates legendary surgeon LaSalle Leffall’s 80th birthday

Hamil R. Harris, Washington Post

Shortly after 6 a.m. Monday, LaSalle Leffall Jr. began making his rounds at Howard University Hospital. He stopped to grab his lab coat. He visited with two patients, made several quick consultations and then it was off to surgical grand rounds, where students talk about the most interesting cases of the week.

Getting up before sunrise and walking the corridors of Howard is a routine that Leffall has followed for six decades, first as a young medical resident and now as the Charles R. Drew professor of surgery at the university’s College of Medicine. And it is that dedication to the hospital and his patients that led several hundred of Leffall’s colleagues to throw a surprise celebration for the doctor, who turned 80 on Saturday.

Instead of looking at slides and listening to a lecture, Leffall found himself surrounded by the medical school’s choir, in crisp lab coats, singing “Happy Birthday.” In response, the silver-haired surgeon displayed a big smile, raised his arms in the air and came down the aisle of a lecture hall shaking hands all the way.

Side Note:  Dr. Leffall is a proud brother of Alpha Phi Alpha.  He was made at the Beta Nu Chapter, Florida A&M