Peter John Ryan (25 November 1925 – 3 June 2002) was a consultant surgeon at St Vincent's Hospital in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia.

Early life and education

Ryan was born in

Dookie, Victoria Dookie ( /ˈduːki/) is a town in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia. It is situated in a valley between Mount Major and Mount Saddleback. Dookie is a farming community. At the 2021 census, Dookie had a population of 333. Dookie ...

in 1925, and attended Assumption College, Kilmore. He qualified in medicine at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

in 1948. Also in the printed journal, March 2003 edition.

Career

He led the first St Vincent's Hospital civilian surgical team to work in Long Xuyen, Vietnam, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. In September 1986 he delivered the

Hunterian Oration The Hunterian Oration is a lecture of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The oration was founded in 1813 by the executors of the will of pioneering surgeon John Hunter, his nephew Dr Matthew Baillie and his brother-in-law Sir Everard Hom ...

on diverticular disease. In 1988, he published ''A Very Short Textbook of Surgery'', and this was also translated into Indonesian and Mandarin. He also worked as an honorary consultant surgeon one morning per month for almost 20 years from 1981 at the VAHS (

Victorian Aboriginal Health Service Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

Other roles

Another of his medical lifetime interests was road safety and driving. He was a founding member of the

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) is the leading advocate for surgical standards, professionalism and surgical education in Australia and New Zealand. Known by its common acronym RACS, it is a not-for-profit organisation, sup ...

' Road Trauma Committee, which was partially responsible for the introduction of compulsory seat belts in cars in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1970, the first state in the world to pass such a law (

Seat belt legislation Seat belt legislation requires the fitting of seat belts to motor vehicles and the wearing of seat belts by motor vehicle occupants to be mandatory. Laws requiring the fitting of seat belts to cars have in some cases been followed by laws mandatin ...

). In May 1965 Ryan supported a motion to investigate the causes of road accidents in Australia.Road Trauma Committee history
Ryan was President of the International Society of University Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ISUCRS) from 1987 to 1988, and chaired the ISUCRS Congress in Melbourne in 1980.

Recognition

In 1986 he was made Hunterian Professor of Surgery by 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 London.

Death and legacy

In 1996 the Peter Ryan Prize for Surgical Research for final year St Vincent’s medical students was established in his honour. He died from cancer on 3 June 2002.

References

Bibliography

*
A very short textbook of surgery
', London:

Chapman & Hall Chapman & Hall is an Imprint (trade name), imprint owned by CRC Press, originally founded as a United Kingdom, British publishing house in London in the first half of the 19th century by Edward Chapman (publisher), Edward Chapman and William Hall ...

Medical, 1994. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Peter 1925 births 2002 deaths Melbourne Medical School alumni Medical doctors from Melbourne Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Australian Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons 20th-century surgeons People educated at Assumption College, Kilmore