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Asset Name:
E009379 - Freeman, Michael Alexander Reykers (1931 - 2017)
Title:
Freeman, Michael Alexander Reykers (1931 - 2017)
Author:
Gareth Scott
Identifier:
RCS: E009379
Publisher:
London : Royal College of Surgeons of England
Publication Date:
2017-11-02

2018-03-12
Description:
Obituary for Freeman, Michael Alexander Reykers (1931 - 2017), Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Language:
English
Source:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Full Name:
Freeman, Michael Alexander Reykers
Date of Birth:
17 November 1931
Place of Birth:
Ockley, Surrey
Date of Death:
14 September 2017
Occupation:
Titles/Qualifications:
BA Cambridge 1953

MB BCh 1956

FRCS 1959

MD 1964

Hon MD 1992
Details:
Michael Freeman, an orthopaedic surgeon at the London Hospital, is best remembered for his contributions to lower limb arthroplasty. He was the only son of Donald George (D G) Freeman and his second wife, Florence Julia Freeman née Elms. Michael's great grandfather, J R Freeman, had established a tobacco business in 1839 in Hoxton, East London. By 1938, when his father died suddenly, the family business was under the dual control of D G and his brother Peter, who managed another factory in Cardiff. As a lifelong non-smoker, the irony of his family history and the career he pursued did not escape him. Michael was sent away to school on his father's death. From 1945 to 1950 he studied at Stowe School, becoming captain of the golf team and, under the direction of the founding headmaster, J F Roxburgh, developed his thirst for knowledge. He gained an open scholarship and closed exhibition to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, achieving first class honours in the natural sciences tripos in 1953, before proceeding to the London Hospital Medical College and completing his clinical studies in 1956. At Cambridge, he had met his lifelong friend John Insall, who accompanied him to London. Together they shared an interest in knee arthroplasty. Following graduation, he passed his FRCS in 1959. In 1960, he completed his National Service in the RAMC. Thereafter, he undertook orthopaedic training at the London, Westminster and Middlesex hospitals. During his tenure as a senior registrar at the London Hospital, the orthopaedic department was headed by Sir Reginald Watson-Jones, Sir Henry Osmond-Clarke, William Alexander 'Scottie' Law and Oliver Vaughan-Jackson. He completed an MD thesis entitled 'Ligamentous injuries' in 1964. His findings regarding the relationship of mechanoreceptors on the contraction of the gastrocnemius (in the cat) remain to this day the foundation of non-operative rehabilitation of ligamentous injuries at the ankle. That year he received the Robert Jones medal from the British Orthopaedic Association. In 1965, he co-founded the biomechanics unit in the department of mechanical engineering at Imperial College with S A V Swanson. There he performed studies on articular cartilage and the designs of joint prostheses. In 1968, he was an American-British-Canadian travelling fellow and, following Watson-Jones' retirement, was appointed to the London Hospital with a part-time consultant contract, allowing him to continue his research at Imperial. As the latter evolved, the biomechanics unit started to manufacture joint prostheses. This was not received enthusiastically by the university and resulted in the establishment of Finsbury Instruments, with members of his former research team at the helm. He engaged in pioneering work with joint replacements for the foot and ankle, which he was later to abandon, disappointed that these could not be made to work with the biomaterials which were available. His interests progressed with hip and knee arthroplasty, resulting in the first condylar knee arthroplasty being implanted at the London Hospital in 1969. The early 1970s saw the arrival of the Imperial College London Hospital hip resurfacing, using ultra high molecular weight polyethylene acetabular components and cobalt chrome heads. With every new development, he was meticulous in documenting changes and recording the outcome of every patient he treated. From this constant scrutiny, he made modifications to rectify any deficiencies he identified. By the early 1980s he had concluded that hip resurfacing was unreliable and had to be stopped. He then proceeded with the development of his full neck retaining total hip prosthesis. All his research was carefully recorded so that a stepwise process of improvement in design addressed any weaknesses. His findings both good and bad were reported. He became a magnet for fellows from across the world who wished to study with him. In 1982, he left Imperial and transferred his research to the bone and joint research unit, in the newly constructed Arthritis and Rheumatism Council building at the London Hospital Medical College. He published prolifically in peer-reviewed journals, wrote a number of books and contributed many chapters. He was generous in sharing his enormous database with visiting fellows and trainees to enable them to advance their careers. His welcoming approach produced a strong international following in the profession. He found time to sit on grant-awarding committees for the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council, the Medical Research Council and the panel for medical research of the Department of Health and Social Security. Additionally, he served as a member of the board of governors of the London Hospital and on the Brent and Harrow Health Authority. He was a member of the editorial board of the *Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery* [Br] and the *Journal of Arthroplasty*, for which he was the first European editor-in-chief from 1996 to 2001. From 1983 to 1985 he was president of the International Hip Society. In conjunction with Hugh Phillips and Robin Ling, he established the British Hip Society, serving from 1989 to 1990 as its first president. He was president of the British Orthopaedic Association from 1992 to 1993. Working with Jacques Duparc, he helped establish the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (EFORT) and was the second president from 1994 to 1995. In 1996 he retired from clinical practice, remarking that throughout his career, when he had designed prostheses and replaced joints, he had never really understood how the knee worked! Through a chance collaboration with the Charles University in Prague, working with Vera Pinskerova, he embarked on a programme of anatomical and MRI studies of cadaver and living knees, identifying the three-dimensional shapes of the articular components of the joint. Over several years with co-workers, he published in detail the mechanism of lateral femoral rollback and medial femoral stability. His findings have been applied to a certain class of knee prosthesis stabilised by a medially-spherical femoral condyle mating with a matched tibial concavity, while the lateral compartment remains unconstrained. Throughout his career, he received numerous awards in recognition of his contributions to orthopaedics, including an honorary fellowship of the British Orthopaedic Association in 2003 and an honorary membership of EFORT in 2007. He was held in high regard by colleagues, not just for his sharp mind, but also for his gentle bedside manner and acknowledgement that adequate time was required to understand a patient's complaint and explain the limitations of any proposed intervention. If anything went wrong he was unhesitating in his apology and planning remedial steps. His knowledge and charm were also an asset to any scientific congress where he was in demand as a chairman, as he could stimulate discussion after most presentations. Michael died on 14 September 2017, aged 85, and was survived by his third wife, Patricia, whom he married in 1968, his six children and 11 grandchildren. He will be greatly missed by his family and the orthopaedic community. His contributions will live on through his publications and inventions, and hopefully the values he has instilled in those who follow him.
Sources:
Personal knowledge

Michael Freeman's family

*Supplement to the London Gazette* 26 January 1960, p.689 www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/41937/supplement/689/data.pdf - accessed 31 January 2018

www.grangetowncardiff.co.uk Freeman's - farewell to a century of cigar-making http://188.65.112.140/~daftscou/steve/grangetown3.htm - accessed 31 January 2018

EFFORT 1 November 2017 www.efort.org/obituary_m_freeman/ - accessed 31 January 2018
Rights:
Copyright (c) The Royal College of Surgeons of England

Image Copyright (c) Image provided for use with kind permission of the family
Collection:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
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Obituary
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Asset Path:
Root/Lives of the Fellows/E009000-E009999/E009300-E009399
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JPEG Image
File Size:
126.69 KB