Hugh Morriston Davies (10 August 1879 – 4 February 1965) was a Welsh thoracic surgeon, the first to perform a dissection

lobectomy Lobectomy means ''surgical excision of a lobe''. This may refer to a lobe of the lung (also simply called a lobectomy), a lobe of the thyroid (hemithyroidectomy), a lobe of the brain (as in anterior temporal lobectomy), or a lobe of the liver (h ...

in the world, and the first to perform a thoracoplasty in the United Kingdom, both firsts achieved in 1912.

Early life and education

Hugh Morriston Davies born in Huntingdon, the son of William Morriston Davies, a doctor from near

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

. He was a student at Winchester, Trinity College Cambridge, and

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College London ...

in London. He earned a medical degree from Cambridge in 1907, with a thesis titled "The Functions of the Trigeminal Nerve", and became a fellow of 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 ...

in 1908.Emyr Wyn Jones
"Hugh Morriston Davies"
in ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (National Library of Wales 2009).

Career

Hugh Morriston Davies became assistant surgeon at University College Hospital. He did some neurosurgical experiments with

Wilfred Trotter Wilfred Batten Lewis Trotter, FRS (3 November 1872 – 25 November 1939) was an English surgeon, a pioneer in neurosurgery. He was also known for his studies on social psychology, most notably for his concept of the herd instinct, which he fi ...

in his early career. He grew interested in how the emerging science of radiology might be used to study chest diseases. In 1912, he became the first surgeon to remove a tumour in a lung diagnosed by using X-rays. In 1914 he was appointed to the

London Chest Hospital The London Chest Hospital, located in Bethnal Green in London, adjacent to Victoria Park, was a hospital with a national reputation for treatment of cardiac and pulmonary disease. Since 1999 it had been run by the Barts Health NHS Trust. It clos ...

. Morriston Davies was also talented at inventing useful devices for improving the surgical experience, including an innovative anesthetic tube design. Unfortunately, in 1916, Davies injured his right hand while performing a surgery; the damage from infection was so extensive that amputation was recommended. He did not, in the end, choose that course of treatment, but his career as a surgeon seemed no longer tenable.Buddug Owen
"Hugh Morriston Davies, 1879-1965"
''History of Anesthesia Society Proceedings'' 3(1998): 37-41. In 1918, Davies began a new career as a sanatorium operator, at Llanbedr Hall near

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; cy, Rhuthun) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. It is Denbighshire's county town. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and ...

. He also wrote the first English-language textbook on thoracic surgery. In time and with extraordinary effort, he trained himself to do surgery again, with his left hand predominating, and he returned to the operating theatre. He went on to publish two more texts, ''Medical and Surgical Treatment of Tuberculosis'' (1933), and ''War Injuries of the Chest'' (1940, co-edited with Robert Coope). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was director of North West Thoracic Surgical Services, Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool, where his responsibilities included training surgeons. In 1954 he won the Weber-Parkes Prize from the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

. In 1960 he gave an extended interview about his career to BBC radio broadcasters.

Personal life

Hugh Morriston Davies married Dorothy Lillian Courtney, the daughter of a doctor. They had two daughters. He retired to

Llanarmon-yn-Iâl Llanarmon-yn-Iâl is a village, and local government community, in Denbighshire, Wales, lying in limestone country in the valley of the River Alyn. The community is part of an electoral ward called Llanarmon-yn-Iâl/Llandegla. The population o ...

in 1959, and died there in 1965, age 85. Today there is a Scadding-Morriston Davies Joint Fellowship in Respiratory Medicine, for British medical students interested in the speciality, named partly in his memory."Scadding-Morriston Davies joint fellowship in respiratory medicine 2013"
''Thorax'' 67(11)(2012): 940.

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading