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t m c » p u l s e | d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 6 7 GEORGE MALLORY, M.D. George Mallory dates his love for bow ties back to the beginning of his pediatric intern- ship in June 1974. He has amassed a trove of approximately 90 bow ties, and is unconcerned about their long association with geeky, bookwormish types. "Pediatricians are probably not threatened by the possibility that someone might conclude that they're nerds. There's a little bit more self-acceptance here," Mallory said. "We don't really have to prove our masculinity, but there's a very practical reason to wear a bow tie: I've never had my tie peed or pooped on in my career." He, along with many other physicians, abandoned long ties after a British study reported that long ties carried bacteria capable of causing disease. "The bow tie was the obvious solution to good taste and infection control," Mallory said. Mallory is very particular about a well-tied bow tie. Clip-ons are bush league and lazy and a beautifully imperfect, slightly tousled bow is key to show he's the real deal. "I abhor the idea of a pre-tied bow tie," he said. George Mallory, M.D., is a pediatric pulmonologist at Texas Children's Hospital and founder of the TCH Lung Transplant Program. BENJAMIN SMITH, M.D. As an officer in the United States Air Force Medical Corps, Benjamin Smith wore the stan- dard camouflage military uniform every day for four years. Except for church and the occasional formal event, he rarely had a chance to acces- sorize with the one or two bow ties he owned. But it was a look he always liked. "I'm pretty nerdy at baseline and I've tried to come up with a look that optimizes the profes- sorial quality and minimizes the nerdiness, so the bow tie seems to work reasonably well for me," Smith said. When he joined MD Anderson in 2010 as a breast radiation oncologist, his bow tie collec- tion quickly expanded—due to function rather than fashion. "I always lean over patients when examining them, so long ties are a real pain in the rear," Smith said. "When I'm examining somebody, oftentimes they've had surgery, so they're at risk for infection. You don't want your clothing being bathed in staph aureus or communicat- ing staph aureus." Benjamin Smith, M.D., is an associate professor in the department of radiation oncology and research director of the breast radiation oncology section at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. MATTHEW GREIVES, M.D. Matthew Greives' office is decorated with plastic models of skulls and skull wall art. The interior design isn't a tribute to the macabre, but rather a reminder of the work Greives does as a plastic surgeon specializing in craniofacial reconstruction. Patients and colleagues shower him with skull paraphernalia, including skull bow ties. Grieves was inspired to wear bow ties about a decade ago when he was still a medical student and learning from veteran craniofacial surgeons who often wore them. "What sold me, particularly, was doing pediatrics," he said. "Every time I would go in and see a cute little one-year-old or two-year- old, I'd try to get up close to do an exam in their mouth and they would grab my tie and yank it. You only have to be strangled by a two-year-old once or twice before you're like, 'I can't wear this!'" Because he works with children, Greives also has plenty of stuffed animals in his office. Some of them wear bow ties, too. Matthew Greives, M.D., is a pediatric plastic sur- geon at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital. The bow tie was the obvious solution to good taste and infection control.