Jacob (Jack) Nayman was born in South Africa and graduated in medicine from the University of Witwatersrand in 1952. His early postgraduate training was at Baragwanath, Coronation and Transvaal Memorial Hospitals in South Africa and he then came to Britain for higher surgical training. He was appointed Dominion Postgraduate Fellow at Guy's Hospital under Professor Sir Hedley Atkins and later surgical registrar at the Hammersmith Hospital under Professor Ian Aird and at Ipswich and East Suffolk Hospital under Robert Monro. He passed the FRCS in 1956 and was senior surgical registrar at Southend General Hospital under Rodney Maingot. In 1958 he returned to Johannesburg as senior registrar and three years later migrated to Australia with his wife and young family. At first he was appointed research fellow and surgeon to the haemodialysis unit at the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, and in 1963 Professor Hugh Dudley who was foundation Chairman of the department of surgery at Monash University appointed him senior lecturer. He was in charge of the dialysis unit and renal transplantation service and working in an academic department had a unique opportunity of developing new techniques and procedures. His original work on the subject of delayed wound healing in patients with renal failure resulted in the award of the degree of Master of Surgery from the University of Witwatersrand in 1967 and he was elected a Fellow of the Australian College of Medical Technologists. In 1968 he was appointed medical director of the newly completed Southern Hospital in Melbourne and in 1973 was chief of surgery at the Hospital. In 1975 he spent a year as visiting Professor of Surgery, University of Malaysia. He undertook much original work on biliary manometry and the relief of post-operative pain and in 1978 was awarded the title of Associate Professor. The following year he gave a Hunterian lecture at the College on the subject of post-operative pain. Sadly he developed Hodgkin's lymphoma and retired from his hospital appointments in 1983 when he entered private practice and became adviser to a nationwide chain of private hospitals. His outside interests were in Greek and Roman coins, music and flying his own light plane. He died on 8 May 1987, aged 57, survived by his wife Doreen, daughters Michelle, Shira and Ilana, and his son Marc.