This man was one of my personal physicians.  I was one of his first TMJ
cases in the scanner at UCSD. Back then, it took hours to obtain an MRI
of right and left TMJ ... He took the scan that revealed the "hole" in
my skull that resulted from the severe damage caused by the (defective)
Vitek glenoid fossa (bilateral) that had been used in my case; I did not
know that the glenoid fossa contained proplast ... but the surgeon did.
He oversaw the CT scan that was done in 1991 for the purpose of building
my Techmedica (TMJ Concepts) joints for bilateral replacement.  He was
always a gentleman.

And in 1989, he left a *serious sick-bed* to testify as an expert for me
in my medical-dental malpractice trial.  

Here's the irony:  in 2000, during my pre-admission workup for
"hospitalized dental care and dental surgery", I was diagnosed by a UCLA
physician with osteoporosis.  I lost confidence in the physician at UCLA
for various and important reasons.  I wonder why I didn't think, back
then, to call upon Dr. Sartoris for his opinion?  Had I tried, it would
have been too late to ask him personally about his opinion.  I wonder
today, what he would be thinking about osteoporosis treatment in cases
such as mine:  osteoporosis in the patient with severe jaw disability.

Here is the notice from Stanford:

* Alumnus of the School of Medicine, class of 1980, DAVID J. SARTORIS,
MD, a recognized expert on the diagnosis of osteoporosis, died June 17,
2000, at the age of 44.

Sartoris, a radiologist, completed his undergraduate degree, his medical
degree, an internship and a residency at Stanford. He joined UC-San
Diego in 1984 as a fellow in the musculoskeletal section of the
radiology department and became an attending physician at UCSD a year
later.

In 1987 Sartoris was chief operator of one of only three new scanning
devices in the United States designed for diagnosing osteoporosis. In
1988 he was elected to the International Skeletal Society.

His work in the field of bone density imaging earned him an
international reputation among colleagues and he has been described as a
consummate teacher and compassionate physician. He was an active patient
advocate and campaigner in the effort to educate the public about bone
health and the prevention of bone loss. San Diego State University
posthumously awarded Sartoris an MPH degree.

Donations may be made to the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
***********

In memory of my friend and physician,
Webby