Michael David Brough was a consultant plastic surgeon at the Royal Free Hospital, London. He was born on 4 July 1942 in London, where his father, Kenneth David Brough, was chairman of Metal Box Overseas Ltd. His mother was Frances Elizabeth née Davies, the daughter of Walter Ernest Llewellyn Davies, a general practitioner in Llandiloes, Montgomeryshire. Michael was educated at the Hall School in Hampstead and then Westminster. He went on to Christ’s College, Cambridge, and completed his clinical studies at the Middlesex Hospital. After graduating he continued his training in Birmingham, Salisbury and Manchester. His first consultant appointment was at St Andrew’s Hospital, Billericay, which was followed by appointments at University College, the Royal Free and the Whittington Hospitals. He became celebrated for his work after the fire at King’s Cross underground station on 18 November 1987, which killed 31 people and caused many severe burns. Michael led the team treating these casualties, an experience which caused him to realise the need for expertise from other specialties (no fewer than 21 consultants from 11 specialties were involved in this instance), as well as ongoing psychological support, especially for those with disfiguring injuries. He urged that all major burns units should be sited in or near teaching or large district general hospitals, and equally, that all major trauma centres should include a plastic surgery and burns unit. He set up the Phoenix Appeal with the Duke of Edinburgh as patron and raised £5m to establish the first academic department of plastic and reconstructive surgery in the UK. In 2002 he set up the Healing Foundation, a national charity chaired by Chris Patten, to champion the cause of people living with disfigurement and to fund research into surgical and psychological healing techniques. Beginning with £500,000 from the British Association of Plastic Surgeons this foundation has raised £4.5m and is setting up a chair of tissue regeneration at Manchester University. He was a former President of the British Association of Plastic Surgeons and also a member of the NHS Modernisation Agency’s Action on Plastic Surgery team. Despite being a non-smoker, he developed lung cancer and died on 18 November 2004. He leaves his wife Geraldine, two daughters and two sons.