Geoffrey Wooler was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Leeds General Infirmary and a pioneer of open heart surgery. He was born in 1911, the son of a successful Leeds businessman. He was educated at Leeds Grammar School and Giggleswick School, before going up to Cambridge to read law. After two

Tony Dyde was a cardiothoracic surgeon at Walsgrave Hospital, Coventry. He was born in Plymouth on 30 May 1935, the son of John Horsfall Dyde, chairman of the Eastern Gas Board, and Ethel May Hewitt, and was educated at Rugby, where he excelled at cricket, hockey and rugby football. He then went up

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

Mathias Paneth was a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Brompton Hospital, London. He was born in Amsterdam in 1921, the son of a doctor who subsequently worked as a surgeon in Sumatra, where he developed a special interest in tuberculosis surgery. Matt was educated at Gordonstoun and Christ Church, Oxfo

Percy Jewsbury was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at the Blackpool Victoria Hospital. He was born in 12 March 1920 in Manchester, the son of Sydney Shardlow Jewsbury, a heating and ventilation engineer, and Hannah Harrison Alder, a district nurse. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School an

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

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

Philip Slade was a cardiothoracic surgeon at Groby Road Hospital, Leicester. He was born on 31 May 1916 in Bristol, the son of Alexander Slade, an engineer, and his wife Elsie. He served in the RAMC in the Second World War, after which he trained in general surgery up to senior registrar level and w

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

Patrick Magee was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at the London Chest Hospital, St Bartholomew's and the London Hospital. He was born on 25 February 1947 and qualified MB BCh BAO from University College, Dublin, in 1971. Two years later, he obtained a first class BSc degree in anatomy and physic

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

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