1869-1932

American surgeon who was probably the first to perform a posterior spinal fusion for the treatment of scoliosis. Scoliosis (from the Greek word for "crookedness") refers to various forms of abnormal lateral curvatures of the spine. Hibbs performed the operation on January 9, 1911, at the New York Orthopedic Hospital. He published an account of this operation for progressive spinal deformities in the New York Medical Journal.