Sir Clement Price Thomas
[''Honour for the King's Doctor''. '']The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
''. (London, England), 15 December 1951; p. 6; issue 52185. (22 November 1893 – 19 March 1973) was a pioneering Welsh
thoracic surgeon
Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thoracic cavity — generally treatment of conditions of the heart (heart disease), lungs (lung disease), and other pleural or mediastinal struc ...
most famous for his 1951 operation on
King George VI.
Following a scholarship to
Westminster Hospital Medical School
The Westminster Hospital Medical School was formally founded in 1834 by George Guthrie, an ex-military surgeon – although students had been taken on at Westminster Hospital almost from the hospital's foundation in 1719 (the traditional name a ...
, Price Thomas was posted to the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
at the onset of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He resumed his surgical training on return and was ultimately elected on to the surgical team of the hospital.
Encouraged to pursue
thoracic surgery
Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thoracic cavity — generally treatment of conditions of the heart (heart disease), lungs (lung disease), and other pleural or mediastinal stru ...
by
Tudor Edwards
Arthur Tudor Edwards (7 March 1890 – 25 August 1946) was a Welsh thoracic surgeon, who worked at the Westminster Hospital, the Royal Brompton Hospital and Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton and pioneered lung surgery in particularly pulmona ...
, Price Thomas took up, along with other posts, a thoracic surgery placement at the
Royal Brompton Hospital
Royal Brompton Hospital is the largest specialist heart and lung medical centre in the United Kingdom. It is managed by Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.
History Consumption in the 19th Century
In the 19th century, consumption was a c ...
, a specialist hospital for chest diseases. His reputation from his work on surgical techniques in
pulmonary tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
led to the decision that he would undertake the lung surgery on King George VI in 1951. Its success resulted in Price Thomas being appointed
Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO).
Price Thomas was elected as president to numerous significant bodies during his career, including, the
British Medical Association, the
Royal Society of Medicine
The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London.
History
The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chamber ...
, the Association of Thoracic Surgeons, the Thoracic Society and the
Welsh National School of Medicine
The Cardiff University School of Medicine ( cy, Ysgol Feddygaeth Prifysgol Caerdydd) is the medical school of Cardiff University and is located in Cardiff, Wales, UK. Founded in 1893 as part of the University College of South Wales and Monmouth ...
. A forerunner of thoracic surgery on the international platform, he delivered a number of eponymous lectures and received several honorary degrees.
Price Thomas, less well known for his cardiac surgery, also introduced surgery for
coarctation of the aorta
Coarctation of the aorta (CoA or CoAo), also called aortic narrowing, is a congenital condition whereby the aorta is narrow, usually in the area where the ductus arteriosus (ligamentum arteriosum after regression) inserts. The word ''coarctation' ...
to the United Kingdom, a procedure he learnt from
Clarence Crafoord
Clarence Crafoord (1899 – 1984) was a Swedish cardiovascular surgeon, best known for performing the first successful repair of aortic coarctation on 19 October 1944, one year before Robert E. Gross.
Crafoord also introduced heparin as thro ...
.
He suffered from lung cancer in his later years, after lifelong
cigarette smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice of burning tobacco and ingesting the resulting smoke. The smoke may be inhaled, as is done with cigarettes, or simply released from the mouth, as is generally done with pipes and cigars. The practice is believed ...
, and died at the age of 79 years, leaving a wife and two sons, one of whom became a surgeon.
Early life
Price Thomas was born in
Abercarn,
Monmouthshire.
He was the youngest child of a family of nine children and they lived on Islwyn Street. His father William Thomas was a grocer and his mother, Rosamund Gertrude Price, was a clergyman's daughter.
He attended Newport High School before going to
Caterham School at the age of 13 years,
[ There is an extrac]
here
/ref> a boarding school in Surrey. He then proceeded to the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire
, latin_name =
, image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University
, motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord
, mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord
, established = 1 ...
.
Price Thomas was awarded the Hughes Medal in anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...
whilst he was a student at Cardiff Medical School. Although his ambition was initially to enter dental surgery
Dental surgery is any of a number of medical procedures that involve artificially modifying dentition; in other words, surgery of the teeth, gums and jaw bones.
Types
Some of the more common are:
* Endodontic (surgery involving the pulp or r ...
, he was subsequently awarded a scholarship to study medicine at the Westminster Hospital Medical School.
Between 1914 and 1918, Price Thomas was posted to the Middle East, specifically Gallipoli, Macedonia and Palestine. He went as a private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
in the 32nd Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps.
Medical career
In 1921, after the war, Price Thomas achieved the Conjoint
{{Unreferenced, date=December 2009
The conjoint was a basic medical qualification in the United Kingdom administered by the United Examining Board. It is now no longer awarded. The Conjoint Board was superseded in 1994 by the United Examining Board ...
Board Diploma, LRCP and then in 1923, attained the FRCS (Eng)
The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. The ...
. At the time, he continued to gain clinical experience at Westminster Hospital with his residential appointments and was sequentially kept as a permanent member of the clinical team there. He was introduced to thoracic surgery by Tudor Edwards, an eminent thoracic surgeon of the time, and was similarly influenced by Ernest Rock Carling and G. T. Mullally. In addition, encouragement in chest surgery came from J. E. H. Roberts, and Morriston Davies.
As well as his responsibilities at the Westminster Hospital
Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded.
In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 the ...
, Price Thomas remained the predominant chest surgeon at the Brompton Hospital. He also attended to the Army and the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
as a consultant in thoracic surgery. He became a consultant at the King Edward VII Sanatorium, Midhurst, and at the Royal National Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, Ventnor. In addition, he had responsibilities at the Welsh National Memorial Association South Wales. Through his contacts and reputation, he became an advisor to thoracic surgery for the Ministry of Health.
Price Thomas had been appointed Tudor Edwards' assistant surgeon in 1932 and they performed the first case of lobectomy of the lung for bronchiectasis the same year. This was the start of a, particularly close friendship over many years. It was inevitable that Price Thomas should comfortably fit into Tudor Edwards' position in thoracic surgery at Westminster hospital once Edwards resigned. Later, during a Tudor Edwards memorial lecture, Sir Russell Brock, Baron Brock commented that no-one knew Tudor Edwards better than Price Thomas.
Price Thomas was predominantly known to operate on tuberculosis and lung tumours. He was the first surgeon to do a bronchial sleeve resection, in 1947: the operation involved removing a bronchial carcinoid tumour. The patient, whose surgery was successful, was a young flying cadet who went on to take command in the Royal Air Force. Price Thomas went on to show how a bronchial blockage from tuberculosis could be resected and the two ends of the bronchus could be sewn together, uniting in a similar way as two ends of intestine. He had his own rationale for collapse therapy of the lung and specifically of selective partial thoracoplasty with apicolysis in the treatment of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
. He was also considered to be fortunate to have one of the best anaesthetists to assist, Ivan Magill
Sir Ivan Whiteside Magill KCVO (23 July 188825 November 1986) was an Irish-born anaesthetist who is famous for his involvement in much of the innovation and development in modern anaesthesia. He helped to establish the Association of Anaestheti ...
.
Academic contribution
From 1948 to 1952 he was affiliated with the Court of Examiners for the Royal College of Surgeons
The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...
(RCS). He became vice-president of the RCS between 1962 and 1964, after contributing to its council since 1952.
In 1958, he was the third Tudor Edwards Memorial lecturer and in 1960 and 1963, Vicary Lecturer and Bradshaw lecturer respectively.
Price Thomas was president of several medical organisations including the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Royal Society of Medicine, the British Medical Association and the Welsh National School of Medicine. He was a valuable expert counsellor, being president of the Medical Protection Society
The Medical Protection Society (MPS) is one of the three UK mutual protection organisations for medical, dental and healthcare professionals. (Dentists are covered through its subsidiary company Dental Protection).
It protects and supports th ...
for many years. He was a founder president of the medical council on alcoholism.
He was awarded honorary degrees by the universities of Wales, Belfast, Paris, Lisbon, Athens and Karachi.
His greatest satisfaction came from being elected the Welsh National School of Medicine's president, a position he held between 1958 and 1970.
Price Thomas was considered a great teacher, running weekly surgical conferences at the Brompton and continuing small group teaching. International gatherings were less enjoyable.
King George VI lung operation
Price Thomas led the team that removed a cancerous
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...
left lung from King George VI. His Times
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems.
Time or times may also refer to:
Temporal measurement
* Time in physics, defined by its measurement
* Time standard, civil time speci ...
obituary noted that despite his huge fame and international reputation "the more honours that befell him, the more did his innate modesty came to the fore".
The king had been unwell in 1951, and was advised by his physicians Sir Daniel Davies, Sir Horace Evans, Geoffrey Marshall and Sir John Weir, to return to London from Balmoral and confine himself to his room. He was described as having 'catarrhal inflammation', and rest may improve it. However, he did not improve and was considerably weak, thin and pale with little exercise tolerance due to intermittent claudication
Intermittent claudication, also known as vascular claudication, is a symptom that describes muscle pain on mild exertion (ache, cramp, numbness or sense of fatigue), classically in the calf muscle, which occurs during exercise, such as walking, an ...
. A series of X-rays were reviewed which, reported by Peter Kerley, a Westminster Hospital radiologist, suggested a tumour, and after Sir Horace Evans consulted Price Thomas, a bronchoscopy
Bronchoscopy is an endoscopic technique of visualizing the inside of the airways for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. An instrument (bronchoscope) is inserted into the airways, usually through the nose or mouth, or occasionally through a trac ...
was organised. The bronchoscopy and biopsy were performed on 16 September, transported to the Brompton hospital by Price Thomas' son, Brian, and the result did confirm lung cancer. The diagnosis was kept secret from the king, who was sent for surgery to remove a blockage. It was also not customary for the public to need to know too much detail. By 11 am on Sunday 23 September 1951, the operation on the king's lung was being performed by Price Thomas and his assistants Charles Edwin Drew and Peter Jones in the Buhl room of the palace. Even the changing the King's guard was switched to St James's palace to avoid disturbance outside the operating theatre, where it would have otherwise taken place. Attempting to perform the surgery in their routine manner whereby the assistants sewed up the wound following removal of the tumour, Price Thomas is recalled to have remarked "I haven't stitched up a chest for 25 years and I'm not going to start practising today!" Following surgery, the king was moved back into his own bedroom, Drew and Jones staying overnight to supervise his early recovery. Distracted on his way home from the palace on the day of the operation, Price Thomas collided with another car, an accident the police refused to prosecute him for.
Despite injury to the left recurrent laryngeal nerve and an effect on the king's voice, the cancerous lung was successfully removed. Price Thomas declined the fee for the surgery, considering it an honour to have been of service to his king. The king honoured him with the KCVO, in December 1951, barely two months before he died from the effects of arterial disease.
Family life
In 1925, Price Thomas married Ethel Doris, whose father was Mortimer Ricks from Paignton in South Devon. He had interests in golf, photography and reading. His son Martyn Price Thomas (1935–2000) was also a surgeon.
Price Thomas lived in St John's Wood
St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...
, was very welcoming and deeply religious. He was also dedicated to his wife and sons. He had numerous nicknames including ‘Clem’, ‘CP’ and ‘Pricey'. Often people would be unsure as to how to address him.
He retained his Welsh accent as well as his Welsh patriotism.
Later life
Price Thomas was also well known for heart surgery. He had been involved with the first resection of coarctation of the aorta in 1946, with Clarence Crafoord. As cardiac surgery expanded and became more complex in the 1950s, he decided to leave it to his junior colleagues. Charles Drew went on to research hypothermia
Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...
and cardiac surgery
Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to co ...
, whilst Peter Jones carried on with thoracic surgery.
Price Thomas was a chain-smoker himself, carrying at least 50 cigarettes in his pocket, and consequently, he suffered from lung cancer. His caricature in Ellis's ''Operations that made history'', 1996, shows a suited Price Thomas with numerous cigarette stubs at his feet. In 1964, Price Thomas underwent a lobectomy for lung cancer, performed by the same surgeon (Charles Drew) who had assisted him in the King's operation in 1951.
Despite his ill-health, he remained actively involved in his presidential projects. As president of the Welsh National School of Medicine
The Cardiff University School of Medicine ( cy, Ysgol Feddygaeth Prifysgol Caerdydd) is the medical school of Cardiff University and is located in Cardiff, Wales, UK. Founded in 1893 as part of the University College of South Wales and Monmouth ...
, Price Thomas remained active in matters of medical education and the school progressed under his leadership. He continued to attend council meetings and ceremonies. In 1965 he laid the foundation stone of a large medical teaching centre in Heath Park, which is situated in the north of Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
. This centre incorporated the University Hospital of Wales, a new dental school and hospital and also the Tenovus
Tenovus Cancer Care is a Welsh cancer charity that supports cancer patients and their families, funds cancer research and works to raise awareness of how to prevent cancer.
History
Tenovus Cancer Care was established in 1943 by ten businessmen (h ...
Institute for Cancer Research.
Price Thomas died at the age of 79 years, on 19 March 1973.
He was buried in New Bethel Chapel cemetery, Mynyddislwyn
Mynyddislwyn was a civil parish and urban district in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It was abolished in local government reorganisation in 1974. It is named for the Mountain in its centre MynyddIslwyn (Islwyn Mountain or Islwyn's Mountain, Isl ...
, where his parents were buried. A memorial service was held in Westminster Abbey on 29 May 1973.
Honours
For his work within the medical community Price Thomas received numerous decorations and honorary appointments. In 1951, Price Thomas was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order after operating successfully on King George VI.
National Honours
* Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (1951)
Medical Honours
*Honorary Legum Doctor
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the ear ...
Wales (1953)
*Honorary Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...
Paris (1954)
*Honorary Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...
Paris (1956)
*Honorary Legum Doctor
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the ear ...
Belfast (1962)
*Honorary Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...
Lisbon (1964)
*Honorary Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...
Karachi (1966)
*Honorary Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...
Athens (1970)
*Honorary Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS) - 1954
*Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (FRCSI)
*Honorary Fellow of Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (FRCSE)
Legacy
Price Thomas Travelling Fellowship
Price Thomas was the third president of the Travelling Surgical Club, as it was known from 1952 to 1972. Now known as the Travelling Surgical Society of Great Britain, the Price Thomas Travelling Fellowship was established in the memory of Price Thomas and his surgeon son Martyn. Two bursaries are awarded annually to inspire education and encourage surgical exchanges.
Memorabilia of The King's Surgery
The operating table is on display at Westminster Hospital, while Dr Cyril F. Scurr donated the ECG machine to the British Oxygen Company Museum at the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain.
Film and Television
Price Thomas will be remembered for the thoracotomy
A thoracotomy is a surgical procedure to gain access into the pleural space of the chest. It is performed by surgeons (emergency physicians or paramedics under certain circumstances) to gain access to the thoracic organs, most commonly the hea ...
on King George VI, which was re-enacted in Stephen Daldry
Stephen David Daldry CBE (born 2 May 1960) is an English director and producer of film, theatre, and television. He has won three Olivier Awards for his work in the West End and three Tony Awards for his work on Broadway. He has received thr ...
's TV series ''The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
'' in 2016. The highly realistic and accurate model of the king complete with surgical incisions was donated to the Gordon Museum of Pathology
The Gordon Museum of Pathology is a medical museum that is part of King's College London in London, England. It is one of the largest pathology museums in the world and is the largest medical museum in the United Kingdom. Its primary function is ...
as an educational aid. The controversies over the cause of the king's death were also touched on in the 2010 film ''The King's Speech
''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ...
''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price Thomas, Clement
1893 births
1973 deaths
People educated at Caterham School
Alumni of Cardiff University
Alumni of Westminster Hospital Medical School
Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers
British thoracic surgeons
Welsh surgeons
Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Presidents of the Royal Society of Medicine
History of surgery
20th-century surgeons
British Army personnel of World War I