Dr. William Pokorny earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., in 1967. He then completed a general surgery residency at the University of Kansas in Kansas City and a pediatric surgery residency at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Ill.
Dr. Pokorny served in the United States Army in Frankfurt, Germany, for two years and returned to Houston in 1976 where he began to practice pediatric surgery as a voluntary faculty member for Baylor College of Medicine.
In 1985, Dr. Pokorny joined the full-time faculty of Baylor College of Medicine becoming a full a professor in surgery and pediatrics in 1991. He served as chief of the Section of Pediatric Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine as well as chief of the Pediatric Surgical Services at Texas Children's Hospital and Ben Taub General Hospital. Dr. Pokorny died in 1994 at the age of 51.
Dr. Pokorny was a well-published author. He published more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles in many scientific journals. He also wrote chapters for more than 20 medical textbooks during his career.
Dr. Pokorny was responsible for developing the Pediatric Surgery Residency Program at Baylor College of Medicine in 1988 and served as the program director. This program is still thriving in the department today and is one of the top programs in the nation.
In the most recent reporting period, the chief resident had performed the largest number of operations of all pediatric surgical residents in the country! This is a true reflection of the legacy Dr. Pokorny left for the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery.
