Dr. Milam Pharo, 86, attended medical school at Tulane in the late ’40s and tended to 100 deaf-mutes at an orphanage in New Orleans during medical school (back when there were no bridges and he had to take a ferry back and forth). He then served at the Pensacola Naval Air Station as Chief of Pediatrics before getting dispatched to the Korean War as a medical officer. The Waco-born father of three began his residency at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas before turning to private practice as a board-certified pediatrician in the Park Cities. During his career, he has presided over the Dallas County Pediatric Society as well as co-founded HIP (Help Is Possible). He has also taught at UT Southwestern Medical School and traveled for several years as a medical missionary to Brazil, where he came face-to-face with leprosy and pregnant 12-year-olds.
Do a good job. I try to help parents raise their children. Park Cities is the nicest place in the country to work as a pediatrician. Most of my patients are second generation and some of them are even third, fourth and fifth generation. My oldest patient is 91 … I don’t discharge my young patients at 12 or 16. They stay with me for life.
What’s been the biggest development in medicine over the course of your career?
Penicillin (used as an antibiotic) is certainly one of them, but there are so many treatments, surgical procedures and diagnostic tools that we have now. There was a time when children with leukemia would not live and now the survival rate (for children under 5) is 90 percent. There is magic in medicine; the cure rate of disease is so much higher now. It’s much easier to practice medicine.
What do you wish parents knew about child rearing?
I wish parents knew that divorce is as hazardous to a child’s health as cancer. Also, parents should warn their kids about the inherent dangers of drug and alcohol addiction. If there is a family history of addiction, it needs to be addressed with the children.
When is it really time to call the pediatrician after hours?
Most of my patients are college-educated and will think it through before they call. The worst thing you can have is a person with an insurance plan who brings the child in eight minutes after noticing the symptoms. I teach all of my parents how to check for meningitis (the biggest threat for an infant) and educate them along the way. Also, if there is an emergency, I recommend parents take their child to a major hospital emergency room versus one of the quick clinics, which may or may not be very good.
What’s your take on vaccines and autism—should parents vaccinate without fears?
The British doctor (Andrew Wakefield) who started all the furor over the (measles, mumps and rubella—MMR) autism-vaccine link has had his medical licenses revoked. (His findings were discredited and deemed fraudulent by the British Medical Journal earlier this year.) I’ve practiced in a time (prior to vaccines) when children died from measles, mumps and even chicken pox. Every day I would perform 200 spinal taps and send 10 patients to the polio clinics, losing a patient a day. Vaccines save lives. I always tell my patients, I wouldn’t give a vaccine to your child if I didn’t give it to mine.
What advice do you give parents for raising a healthy child—has it changed much over the years?
Pretty much the same: Watch out for bad habits such as drugs, teach them manners and encourage them to leave the world a teeny bit better place. Life is not about having a building named after you.
How has parenting changed over the years?
Good parents are still good parents. You can’t turn over the reins to the child. Unfortunately, today I see a lot of absent parents who are not there for their children. I also see over-involved parents. There is a point where you have to withdraw and let children grow up. I always use Cleopatra as an example. She was 12 when she married (became queen at 17); our children are much more sophisticated and smart. Trust that they will be OK.
What was the top parental concern 50 years ago compared to today?
People were worried about how they were going to afford to educate their children. My families are still worried about that today. But life was much easier. Kids could roam around safely outside and we didn’t have to lock doors.
Has the advent of the Internet (and Google) changed the way parents are educated on medical matters? Has it affected the way you operate your practice?
Yes, if I give an unusual diagnosis I better be prepared, because parents will know more than me within 24 hours. I’m not really a computer person and I’m not crazy about TV. I would rather go dancing, play Texas hold ’em or help out at my daughter’s ranch than sit in front of a screen.
What do you think the biggest threat is to children’s health today? The biggest concern is drug and alcohol addiction. I lose more of my patients to addiction than any other disease. OxyContin (oxycodone) overuse is the No. 1 cause of drug-related deaths in the state of Florida. Children are way too often prescribed Xanax for anxiety, and it is as addictive as heroin. In some ways, I don’t see medicine advances improving (quality of life).
How many children have you treated over the years? Are you still taking patients?
I have probably treated more than half a million children. I’ve been in practice for 62 years—I have seen it all! I still work 5 1/2 days every week and still accept new patients of all ages based on referral (related to a previous-generation patient).
Do you have plans of retiring soon?
No!
What do you credit for your own longevity?
I’ve been very blessed. I also like to be active. I’ve never smoked, and occasionally I’ll drink a cold beer. I think you need to live life to the fullest and indulge in moderation.
What do you wish your 86-year-old self could tell your 26-year-old self about
practicing medicine?
Well, I would tell him how to get into medical school—same thing I do with my patients who want to become doctors. I have more than 200 patients who have gone to medical school. It’s a numbers game. But we are currently 40,000 doctors short in this country.
What’s your favorite part about being a pediatrician?
I love it. I wake up every morning and think, “Man, I’m going to have fun today.” You never know what the day will bring—it’s like Russian roulette going from room to room to visit patients. There is such joy in meeting and helping people.
