Aluvangal Pulparambil Chandrasekharan was a cardiothoracic surgeon in the department of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, Pushpagiri Medical College, Kerala, India. He died on 20 June 2011, aged just 54, after sustaining a head injury in a traffic accident three days earlier. He was survived by h

Elizabeth Vivien Slesser, known as 'Betty', worked as a surgeon in Leicester from 1951 to 1978 and expanded the cardio-thoracic unit at Groby Road Hospital. She had an interesting life at a time when women in surgery had to fight hard to be recognised, and later lectured on this topic at the Royal C

Andrew Drain was a cardiothoracic surgeon who was born in Northern Ireland on 9 June 1974. In 2006 he worked in the department of cardiothoracic surgery at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge. He was working at a prestigious New York hospital and about to return to the UK as a consultant when he was diagno

Ahmed Abdel Aziz Yacoub, widely known as Ahmed Abdel Aziz, was a pioneering Sudanese cardiothoracic surgeon. A charismatic leader and gifted teacher, he was a staunch advocate of training in surgery in the Sudan. He was born in Gubbat Salim, Abri, in northern Sudan on 12 January 1931. His father was

Lance Bromley was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at St Mary's Hospital, London. He was born on 16 February 1920 to Lancelot Bromley, a surgeon at Guy's Hospital, and Dora Ridgway Bromley née Lee of Dewsbury, Yorkshire. Educated at St Paul's School, Lance Bromley obtained his 1st MB examination

Ben Milstein was a consultant thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge. He was one of the unsung heroes of cardiothoracic surgery. He was born in Dublin on 30 September 1918, the first son of orthodox Jewish immigrant parents, Hershel and Rebecca Milstein. The family later

Hubert Percival was a cardiothoracic surgeon. He was born on 13 May 1938 and studied medicine at Birmingham University. An early post was as registrar at Northwick Park Hospital and Clinical Research Centre, Harrow and he also lectured in physiology at the Sherrington School of Physiology, St Thomas

Leon Abrams was a cardiothoracic surgeon who developed the first variable-rate heart pacemaker. He was born in Leeds, but his family soon moved to Birmingham, where he spent most of his life, apart from a short period of National Service in the Royal Army Medical Corps. After medical school in Bi

Desmond Gerard Taylor was a cardiothoracic surgeon in Sheffield. He was born in Belfast on 12 December 1925 and was educated at a Christian Brothers' School. He then studied medicine at Queen's University, Belfast. After qualifying in 1948, he went to London, where he worked in Great Ormond Stree

Alfred Gunning was a cardiothoracic surgeon in Oxford, perhaps best known for his work on replacement heart valves. He was born on 21 November 1918 in Dullstroom, South Africa, the son of George Ronald Gunning, a police sergeant, and Kathleen Gunning née Dunne, a housewife. He attended the Christian

Alan Mearns was a cardiothoracic surgeon in Bradford. He studied medicine in Liverpool, qualifying MB ChB in 1963, and continued his surgical training in the city, passing his FRCS Edinburgh in 1969 and his FRCS in 1970. After a post as a senior registrar in cardiothoracic surgery at Killingbeck Hos

James Baird was a cardiothoracic surgeon in Wellington. He was born on 24 January 1922 in Hastings, New Zealand, the son of Hugh William Charles Baird, a director of a drapery company, and Jeanie Aiton Baird née Aitken. He was educated at Mohora School in Hastings and then Wellington College. He wen