Sir James Keith Ross, 2nd Baronet,

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal ...

(9 May 1927 – 18 February 2003) was a British consultant cardiac surgeon. He was one of the team who performed the first

heart transplant A heart transplant, or a cardiac transplant, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease when other medical or surgical treatments have failed. , the most common procedu ...

in the United Kingdom.

Early life

Ross was born in London on 9 May 1927, the son of Sir James Paterson Ross, Surgeon to the Royal Household, and Marjorie Burton Townsend, a former surgical ward sister at

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (die ...

. Ross was educated at

The Hall School, Hampstead The Hall School is an independent boys' preparatory school in Belsize Park, Hampstead, north London, currently teaching boys from age 4 to age 13. Description The school, across its three buildings, a new one being built currently, has a roll of ...

and St Paul's School. He qualified in medicine at

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

prior to undertaking mostly sea-based

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

in the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

. He then returned to the Middlesex Hospital. In 1956, Ross passed the

Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal ...

(FRCS) examinations. He proceeded to undertake training in cardiothoracic surgery at the

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 co ...

and also in San Francisco, where he held a Fulbright Scholarship and worked with Frank Gerbode. While in the US, he conducted research into heart grafts that resulted in a thesis for his masters in surgery and also a Hunterian professorship.

Career

Ross worked as Senior Registrar at the Middlesex and

Harefield Harefield is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England, northwest of Charing Cross near Greater London's boundary with Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the north. The population at the 2011 Census was 7,399. Haref ...

Hospitals from 1961 to 1964 and then as a Consultant Surgeon at Harefield Hospital from 1964 to 1967. He was Consultant Surgeon at the National Heart Hospital from 1967 to 1972. On 3 May 1968, together with Donald Ross (no relation) and

Donald Longmore Professor Donald Longmore OBE, FRCSEd, FRCR (born 1928) is a British consultant surgeon and clinical physiologist. He was one of the team who performed the first heart transplant in the United Kingdom. Longmore was a Consultant Surgeon and Cl ...

, he performed the first

in the United Kingdom, which was also only the eleventh in the world. From 1972 to 1990, Ross was Consultant Cardiac Surgeon, for the Wessex Region, based at Southampton. Ross served as a member of the Council of the RCS from 1986 to 1994 and as President of the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons in 1988. He was chair of the RCS's Working Party on Cardiac Transplantation from 1990 to 1992. He was awarded the Bruce Medal of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located o ...

in 1989, which is a recognition granted only occasionally since its inception in 1966.

Personal life

Ross was an accomplished painter, who twice had pictures accepted for the

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, s ...

and sold both. He was also a keen angler, woodworker and sailor. On the death of his father in 1980, Ross became second baronet. He died suddenly at his former hospital in Southampton on 18 February 2003 after initially successful treatment for a dissecting aneurysm of the aortic arch. He is survived by his son and three daughters. His son, Andrew Charles Paterson Ross, succeeded him as third baronet.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Keith 1927 births Place of birth missing 2003 deaths Place of death missing British cardiologists British surgeons Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England People educated at St Paul's School, London 20th-century surgeons Royal Naval Reserve personnel