Mellick Tweedy “Mac” Sykes, Sr., was born May 12, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan, where his father was in his surgical residency at Wayne State University. In 1952 his family returned to San Antonio where he grew up and spent most of his professional life.

Dr. Sykes graduated from Alamo Heights High School in 1966 where he was class favorite and co-captain of the football team. He attended Princeton University, where he played football until a career-ending knee injury; was a member of the Ivy Club; and graduated cum laude in Philosophy in 1971. After graduation, he spent a year in Nashville intending to court his future wife and sell country songs. His work as the night-shift orderly at Nashville General Hospital, and pre-med courses at Vanderbilt University, however, inspired a medical career.

Dr. Sykes graduated AOA from UTMB in 1976. Elected to the honor council and student senate, he served as class president and chief prefect of the Mu Delta Honorary Service Society. On graduation he received the Barnett Medal in Surgery and the Sealy Award for Research in Neurology. 

After a neurosurgery internship at UTHSC San Antonio, he spent a year as instructor in Anatomy, then entered the general surgery program, finishing with the outstanding resident award in 1982. He completed his vascular fellowship in Nashville at St. Thomas Hospital/Vanderbilt University in 1983. 

Returning to San Antonio in 1983, Dr. Sykes completed his master’s degree in anatomy, and entered private practice in vascular surgery. In 1986, he described one of the earliest applications of thrombolytic therapy followed by first rib removal for Paget-Schroetter syndrome.

In 1993 he left private practice to become chief of vascular surgery at UTHSC-SA. He rose to full professor in 1999, served as chairman of the Medical Faculty Assembly and chaired the Medical Affairs Committee of the University of Texas System Faculty Advisory Council. In 2002 he spent three months as the endovascular fellow under Dr. Michael Silva at the Texas Tech University HSC in Lubbock before returning to San Antonio private practice in 2003. He served as chief of staff for the NE Baptist and Methodist Specialty & Transplant hospitals, and president of the JB Aust Surgical Society and the San Antonio Vascular Surgery Society, now the Texas Society for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.

In 2014 he began an extended sabbatical to research and write the centennial book for the Texas Surgical Society. In 2019 he joined the Department of Surgery at UTMB Galveston as Clinical Professor.

Dr. Sykes was elected to membership in Texas Surgical Society in 1987. He served as Local Arrangements Chair in 1994, Secretary from 1997–2001, President in 2004, and Archivist since 2001. Contributions include the Ethics Breakfast, the Ross Scholarship Program, and various archival and organizational projects. Dr. Sykes was awarded the Distinguished Service Award at fall meeting of the Society on October 8, 2016 in Dallas. 

Dr. Sykes is also a member of the American College of Surgeons, Southern Association for Vascular Surgery, Society for Vascular Surgery, Southern Surgical Association, and Western Surgical Association.

Dr. Sykes lives in San Antonio with his wife of 50 years, Barbara. He has two daughters, two sons, and five granddaughters.