Department of Urology Centennial
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The McGuire Era (1983-1993)

A Decade of Discovery
Advances in the understanding of urinary tract infection, urodynamics and pelvic surgery

Edward McGuire

Edward J. McGuire, MD

  • Chief, Section of Urology (1983–1993)

Edward McGuire, MD, was recruited from Yale University to become the chief of the Section of Urology in 1983, following retirement of his predecessor Jack Lapides, MD.

An accomplished and innovative surgeon, McGuire was one of the contemporary forces in the areas of urinary tract infection, urodynamics and pelvic surgery. His clinical and basic research led to greater understanding of the way lower urinary dysfunction can damage kidney function, and the mechanisms enmeshed in that process. McGuire also helped to develop injectable agents for incontinence with his team of U-M researchers.  

An active member of national and international organizations and societies, he was a founding member and former president of the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction, associate editor of the Journal of Urology and the Journal of Pelvic Surgery, and a feature editor of the Journal of Neurobiology and Urodynamics. McGuire was also a member of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons and American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons.

During his tenure, McGuire played a key role in international outreach and collaboration for residents to travel to Haiti and trainee exchanges with Ireland. He eliminated the partition between the staff and residents’ clinics, which resulted in greater oversight of residents.

A native of East Lansing, Michigan, McGuire earned his medical degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, and completed his surgery and urology training at Yale University with a one-year fellowship at the London Hospital in England. Drafted into the army following his internship, McGuire was sent to San Antonio, Texas for basic training. Four weeks later he was in an infantry battalion in Vietnam. During his service he received an Army Commendation Medal and four Bronze Stars. McGuire’s decision to specialize in urology came to him while in Vietnam.

He loved the ability to recruit new residents and watch them grow, as well as see the faculty grow up over the years.

McGuire left the university in 1993, unhappy with the sectional status of urology in the Department of Surgery, to assume leadership of the Department of Urology at the University of Texas in Houston. He returned to the U-M in 1999, and in 2007 was appointed the Reed Nesbit Professor of Urology. In 2013, he received the title of professor emeritus of urology and had an active appointment until August 2017.

Our landmark achievements with the spinal cord injury fertility program are probably what stands out the most throughout my time. Men with spinal cord injuries, and paraplegics and quadriplegics are not able to function properly sexually, and one of the biggest downfalls of this is the inability to have children. In the early 1980s, one of our faculty, Carol Bennett, started working with induced electrical stimulation and was able to collect sperm from men. And, actually through artificial insemination, she created the first pregnancy in the United States from a man with a spinal cord injury via this induced procedure.

Dana Ohl, MD

Also happening around the world in 1983

  • Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States.
  • The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut oil prices for first time in 23 years.
  • Sally Ride became the first American woman in space on the shuttle Challenger.
  • Magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography revolutionized medical imaging.
  • Urology witnessed advances in the treatment of kidney stones and prostate cancer.

Also happening at Michigan Medicine

  • 1985: The University Hospital and Taubman Health Care Center open.
  • 1986: M-CARE is created by U-M and licensed by the state of Michigan; it is one of the first university-owned HMOs in the U.S.
  • 1990: The expansion of U-M Hospitals continues with the opening of integrated services for children and women in 221,000 square feet of new space and renovated units in existing hospitals.